Blood Birds
by Fly Guy
Summary: What would have happened if the bats in the Capture had really been VAMPIRE bats? What if, on that fateful night, instead of having "urges" removed, the owls would have received NEW urges that involves cannibalism? This is my first fic, so R&R please! :
1. Chapter 1 The Army

Hi people! This is the author speaking. This is my 1st Fanfiction story, so please read it and review. If you have any advice please share it so I can get better. I hope you enjoy it! ;)

Blood Birds- Chapter 1

It was the last night of the dwenking. The moon was but a thread hanging in a dark sky. Soren and Gylfie were quietly talking to each other in the dim, first about primary feathers, then about when they could finally escape the deep canyons of St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls. Little did they know just how badly this night would end…

Soren and Gylfie joined the other owl chicks in the glaucidium to eat their evening ration of cricket. As they ate, Soren tried to persuade 47-2 to give him any information on the evening's events, for both Soren and Gylfie felt that there would be a change in many of the owls that very night, something evil.

Suddenly, the sky thrummed with the leathery snap of thousands of bat wings. The sound pulsed loudly in Sorens ear slits, and he felt as if his head would explode. All light was blocked out as the ten thousand vampire bats spiraled down.

The owls in the glaucidium began to chant to the bats, which seemed drawn by and unseen force.

Come to us and quackle and quank.

Relieve us of our stirrings

With your fangs so sharp and bright

Take this blood that's always purring.

Through our hollow bones it flows

Holding us to our mortal bodies.

Take the life from within our veins, replacing it with poison then,

So we can live, in death again

Let the power flow through our veins.

Come and drink your fill

So we might end our pains.

Soren and Gylfie watched in horror as a huge bat latched onto an owl's neck. The owl began to tremor and shake. Suddenly, the owl shot out his talons and stabbed another owl in the chest. As the owl died, the murderer stuck his beak in the bleeding wound and began to drink the crimson blood.

Soren looked away and saw several more owls do the same thing. Owl's were drinking the puddles of blood that now pooled on the stone floor of the canyon. The owls stopped and lifted their heads to the moon, which cast off a sickening red glow from their eyes.

Out of nowhere, a bat as large as Soren himself swooped down and almost bit him, but he jumped out of the way and it crashed into another bat that was coming from behind. There was a loud slap as they collided and fell to the ground, motionless. Soren then noticed that the remaining owls were advancing toward them, slowly and menacingly.

"Soren, if we ever want to fly, we need to do it now!" Gylfie shouted above the screams of death coming from all around.

He turned his head and saw her hopping and flapping her tiny wings. She picked up off of the ground for a couple of seconds and then fell, he did the same. After a few strained tries, they picked up off of the ground. An exhilarating feeling overtook him as he rose into the dark sky, Gylfie at his side.

His joy was soon shattered as he saw Jatt and Jutt,the two long-eared owls perusing them. They were so fast! Faster than any owl he had ever heard his da speak of. Jatt shouted "Come back and join our army! All it takes is one little bite!" he snapped a bloody beak at Soren's ankles, but missed.

He was saved again by a shouted order from Skench. "Jatt, Jutt get your tail feathers back here! Let them fly; they can do us no harm! Have you forgotten that we are immortal?"

The owls turned and flew back to the ground. The relief Soren felt, knowing that he and Gylfie had escaped unharmed. They were free at last, but what of the other chicks? Soren suddenly felt sick and his head began to throb, but he kept flying until they found a tree.

The two owls landed, with difficulty, on a branch and they tried to sleep. After what they had witnessed, it was impossible though. So they simply bowed their head and thought to themselves. Soren could still hear Skench shouting, "Young owls, we being the noblest of all birds have been given the gift of immortality! We have new strength, speed, minds, and hunger! Do you feel it in your gizzard? We will feed on those owls weaker than us; it is what we thirst for. We must unite and rule all of this world from Beyond the Beyond, to the Forest Kingdom of Tyto!"

Soren shivered, Tyto was his home. It was where he spent the first weeks of his existence. How could these fiends do such a thing? He had to stop listening; it pained him to think of these cannibalistic owls, if you could even call them that.

"They're trying to rule the world, aren't they?" Gylfie inquired.

"Yes…"

Then the world around them suddenly fell into an awkward silence. There was nothing to listen to, nothing to say. Only the gentle swaying of the tree they sat in let them know that this was really real.

Eventually Soren finally asked, "What happened back there, Gylfie?"

"I don't know, Soren," the Pigmy replied solemnly. "I don't know."

Possibly to be continue…


	2. Chapter 2 Twilight

Chapter 2- Twilight

After dawn broke and the first streaks of orange and golden light licked at the purple sky, the two young owls finally slept through their first day in longer than they could place a number on the days.

Soren began to see pictures flashing through his mind as he slept:

_Thousands of owls were slowly flying over a great sea. Skench flew in front of the owls, Soren now saw that they were the St. Aegolius Army, and she shouted, "Attack!" _

_The owls picked up their speed and stormed toward a small island with an enormous tree in the center. As they drew nearer, Soren and Gylfie, accompanied by a Great Gray Owl and a Burrowing Owl, flew forward to meet them, followed by their own army. The St. Aegolius Army owls were unequipped, but Soren's army all wore battle claws and held burning sticks in their talons._

_The scene in the images changed. Soren, Gylfie and the same Great Gray and Burrowing owls were flying quickly over forests and deserts alike. They came to a sea shore and vanished in the mist._

Soren was awakened by a creaking branch from above. He tipped his head up and he found himself staring into the deep yellow eyes of a Great Grey Owl. Not just a Great Grey, it was _the _Great Grey! "w-who are you?" Soren managed to stammer.

"Why do you need to know?" the owl demanded. He was so big! His head alone was nearly twice the size of Gylfie.

Soren was caught off guard. He had never been asked a question as an answer to his own questions. He could only reply by saying, "I don't, really."

"Then why'd you ask?" he demanded again as he jumped onto the same branch as Soren. The branch seemed to almost vibrate out from under Soren because he had only stood on solid rock for so long before.

"You may think me to be yoicks, but I saw you in my sleep." Soren said timidly.

Gylfie suddenly piped up. "You had a dream Soren! And if you really did see this owl in that dream, you may be able to see the future!"

The big Great Grey owl was startled. "Oh, I didn't see you there. You're a short one, aren't ya?" Gylfie started to get angry, the Great Grey only snickered.

"You are very rude! Just because I am small doesn't mean that I deserve no respect!"

"whatever." The large owl said. He looked at Soren with his yellow eyes. "So, what brings you to Ambala?"

"Ambala?" Soren was amazed at how far they had flown the night before. "We ran away from…"

"From what? Come on, spit it out!" the Great Grey shouted.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Soren said, looking away.

"You might be surprise what I can believe." The owl tapped a talon on the branch impatiently. "I'm waitin'."

"He doesn't have to tell you if that is what he chooses, no more than you need to tell us what you call yourself!" Gylfie shouted.

"Your temper is as short as you are." the Great Grey laughed. "Fine, I call myself Twilight. I am a Great Grey. Don't know why, but that's what I call myself." The name suited him well, for his coat of feathers was silver and grey. His eyes, deep yellow eyes, were surrounded with silver and grey streaks on his facial disk. His feathers seemed to glow in the star-filled night.

"That's better. My name is Gylfie, the Elf Owl, and his name is Soren. He is a-"

"Barn Owl, I know. I've met more owls than you, you know." Twilight cut her off. "Now," he turned to Soren, "you can tell me what you were running from." The owl seemed to be quite pleased with himself.

"We escaped from St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls. They have made an army, an immortal army." Soren said.

"What's that supposed to mean? My head might be big, but it sure don't know what you're talkin' about." Twilight said, puzzled.

"Immortal means that you cannot die, you will live forever. At least that's what my da told me." Soren could still remember his wonderful parents Noctus and Marilla, his beautiful sister Eglantine, his brother Kludd and Mrs. Plithiver, the family's nest-maid snake.

"So, you mean to tell me that you are running from a bunch of immortal chick snatchers?" Twilight said. "That would explain how I chipped by beak when I tried to bite that owls talon off." He bent his head toward Soren and Gylfie so that they could see the small rough edge of his yellow beak where fragments had broken off.

"You were snatched?" Gylfie and Soren both asked at the same time.

"Sure was."

"How did you escape?" soren asked, curiosity swelling inside his gizzard.

"I didn't really escape. The guy just lost his grip and I fell to the ground. We were over Kunneer, so there were some updrafts to slow my fall and the sand was soft enough so that I didn't die when I hit. A family of Elf Owls took me in until I learned how to fly. I've been alone since."

"It must have been difficult for you, being raised by someone as small as me." Gylfie said solemnly.

"Hey, what doesn't kill ya can only make you stronger." Twilight sighed. "So, Soren, are you gunna tell us the rest of that dream or what?"

Soren paused for a moment. That Twilight could sure change the subject fast. "Okay, the owls from St. Aegolius were flying over a sea with murky green water, rippled with choppy waves. Skench screeched 'attack' and the owls speed up, towards a huge tree on a tiny island. We were there, along with a Burrowing owl and an army of our own flying towards them with battle claws and flaming sticks. Right before the two armies clashed, my dream changed and we, with the same Burrowing Owl were flying over the different owl kingdoms toward the same sea. Then I woke up."

"You sure you're not yoicks?" Twilight asked, answered by the glaring eyes of the Elf owl. "Chill out! It's not my fault that it sounds like a bunch of racdrops, though that tree does sound familiar, like I've heard of it before. Did it by any chance resemble this one here?" he tapped his talons on the tree.

"yes." Soren replied. "But it was really big."

"That's what I figured; you saw the Great Ga'Hoole tree."

"The what?" Soren asked.

"The Great Ga'Hoole tree. You know, From the legends?"

Soren suddenly remembered the good-light stories that his da told them every dawn in the cozy hollow in the fir tree. About when in the time of Glaux, the noble owls of the Great Ga'Hoole tree would rise up and perform noble deeds each night. "How could I have possibly seen that tree? It doesn't exist, except for in the legends."

"Legends are real, if you know how to believe." Twilight said calmly.

"Then we will fly!" Gylfie exclaimed. "First, we go to the dessert of Kunneer to find the burrowing owl, then to the Great Ga'Hoole tree!"

The three owl friends lifted off of their perches and rose into the night, traveling towards Kunneer.


	3. Chapter 3 Memories and a Mistake

Chapter 3 – Memories and a Mistake

The three owls had only been flying for an hour when Gylfie felt the familiar stabbing pain of hunger ripping at her gut. Having been fed only crickets and a little bit of snake every once in a while, it's a wonder she never starved to death a long time ago. It wasn't until she mentioned her discomfort that Soren realized how hungry he was too.

"Twilight, were hungry." Soren said as he edged toward the massive Great Grey.

"So?"

"We need food." Soren stated.

"So find a vole or something, you're the one with the good ears." Twilight said as if to remind him.

" Right." Soren then began to instinctively tilt his head and shift his muscles in his white facial disk. He heard a quiet thumping coming from on the ground, just off from his left wingtip. He listened a little harder and the sound came clear, the heartbeat of an animal on the ground. "There's a large rodent on the ground, just off to the left."

"Go get it then!" Twilight shouted when Soren didn't descend.

"I can't! I've never hunted before!"

"Well I won't be letting it get away!" Twilight suddenly seemed to drop from the sky. He was diving straight for the ground. Soren thought for sure that the owl would crash face-first on the ground, but the Great Grey's dive slowed and he snatched at the ground with his outstretched talons. The owl was soon up to the same altitude as the others.

When they found a nice hollow, they landed and Twilight tore the vole in half with his beak and talons. He gave the tail end to Soren and the other to Gylfie. "While you two eat," he said, "I'll go get myself something." Twilight then flew out of the hollow into the night.

Soren and Gyfie silently ate their shares of the vole. Their stomachs had shrunk so much that half of the vole filled Soren, and Gylfie couldn't even finish her own.

Soren looked at the floor of the hollow; a small amount of blood from the vole had stained the yellowish-white wood of the hollow. Although seeing blood was a natural part in an owl's life, the sight of it now sickened him. He wondered if there would ever be an escape from the fear of these blood-drinking monsters.

Soren saw that Gylfie had something on her mind. He cocked his head in a questioning manner and said in a soothing tone, "Gylf, what's wrong?"

"It's just that we are so helpless right now, vulnerable. Here we are, nearly adults and we can't even hunt. We just learned how to fly, and we need to fly all the way to the Great Ga'Hoole Tree, which by the way we have no idea if it exists or not. Whether or not we have our flight feathers, were just a couple of chicks in a world based on battles. And need I remind you that if it weren't for Twilight, we would be completely lost?" Her words seemed to hang in the silence for a moment. Then the tiny Elf Owl began to tremble and sob.

"It's alright Gylfie, we can make it through this. The same way we survived through the moon scalding and moon blinking and the same way we escaped, together." Soren walked over to the poor little owl and gently began to preen through Gylfie's feathers. The gesture seemed to calm her, but Soren continued until Twilight retuned with a plump vole grasped in his talons.

Again, the sight of blood sickened Soren and he yarped a pellet. Yarpind was the action of an owl spitting out the compressed bones, teeth, and other objects which are hard to digest in a small ball, shaped by the gizzard. This was only his second pellet. His first pellet that he yarped was at St. Aegolius, after Auntie gave him a mouse. Soren remembered that foul bird, unfit to be called a Snowy Owl under any circumstances, mainly because she was his pit guardian, but also because she was the one who had pushed the brave Spotted Owl named Hortense down into a thousand-foot abyss to her death.

Auntie was now dead, as a result of her old age. She had not already been turned into a blood-sucking bird, and as a result, she died. Now, as Soren thought of Hortense and Auntie, he could not hear Twilight shouting his name.

…

"Soren? Soren! SOREN!" Twilight said as he pushed the young owl with a light nudge with his talons.

Soren opened his eyes and realized that he had been sleeping. "How long was I out?"

"Only a few minuets," Twilight said, "but you're lucky that I was big enough to block the moon from hitting you. You'd have been moon blinked in a second if I hadn't."

A chill ran up Soren's spine when he heard those words. Moon blinking was how they made the owl chicks in St. Aegolius loose there own senses. That was how they were so easily fooled into this whole mess, with the exception of Soren and Gylfie, who resisted the effects of the full shine.

"Are we ready to fly yet?" Gylfie asked.

"No, it's almost dawn." Twilight answered. "We need to stay here, unless you enjoy being mobbed by crows."

"Crows?" Soren asked.

"Yep, they might hide from us at night, but if they catch you flying in the light, well let's just say it's not pretty."

"So we need to sleep now, and then leave for Kunneer in the morning." Gylfie stated.

**Back in St. Aegolius…**

The sun light was streaming down into the cracks of the St. Aegolius Canyons. Skench was perched on a pillar of stone high above all the other owls. A owl flew up and perched on a lower spike of rock.

"Skench, my honorable leader, we have just taken Beyond the Beyond under our control. We have taken ten Dire wolves as prisoners of war, the rest escaped." Spoorn, the Western Screech Owl who was Skench's first lieutenant, informed Skench on their progress.

"Good, good." Skench replied. "Bite the wolves, but do not kill them, we can use them in our front lines."

"The hunters have arrived, as well. They cold not find any owls, but they found some hawks nesting on a rock face."

"It is all going according to plan. Next, we shall torch the Shadow Forest." The Great Horned Owl spoke with a hollow, menacing tone.

"Master, if I may, I would like to inform you of some, rather disturbing news." Spoorn looked up to Skench.

"You may speak."

"The two young owls, 12-1 and 25-2, the runaways have teamed up with a Great Grey, rumor has it that they are headed for the Tree."

"The Tree, you say." Skench cocked her head.

"I'm afraid so."

"If I had known…" her voice dwindled of, as if she was in deep thought. "I have the solution! We shall send 47-2 to destroy them. She is an excellent flyer and will catch them before they reach Cape Glaux, assuming that is where they are flying from."

"I shall send for her at dusk." Spoorn said as he stretched his wings out for flight.

"No! We mustn't wait! We cannot afford to have them prepare against our attack, we would be out numbered. No, fly now; crows can do her no harm."

"As you wish." Spoorn then dove down into the cracks of St. Aegolius. Moments later a dark speck lifted out of the same crack and headed east, toward Ambala.

_Fly 47-2, drink from the two escaped owls and make up for my mistake._ The Great Horned Owl let out an ear-piercing screech that echoed back from the rock below, "To the Shadow Forest!"


	4. Chapter 4 The Dessert and Digger

Chapter 4- Deserts and Digger

It was the dusk of the next evening when Soren and the others awoke. They stretched out their wings and blinked the sleep out of their eyes. He looked out of the hollow toward the rising stars and thought to himself, _when this all be over. I just can't see what the point is in living when death will come anyway._

"Are we ready now?" twilight asked.

"Yeah, we need to get to Kunneer as soon as we can." Soren said with a sigh. He would have liked to just go home and be with his parents and younger sister, but he knew that the predicament that they were facing was far too important to waist any time.

And so, the three owls gently glided down a bit and rose up into the night on a warm updraft. Soren knew that they were getting close to Kunneer. The trees were thinning, the air temperature got warmer at a slow rate and the hills and rivers got smaller until they became hardly noticeable.

It was more than an hour before the hills of trees and stone were gone, replaced by cactuses and sand dunes. The heat from the dessert sands was creating thermal updrafts that made easy flying. The three owls were now soaring over Kunneer.

The sand seemed to glimmer in the moonlight. The only black spots on the ground were the shadowed figures of the three owls, as well as the cactuses. The magnificence of what Soren saw was beyond his belief. Gylfie and Twilight were unaffected, only because they had been there before. 

"We should land, my wings are getting tired." Gylfie suggested.

Soren and Twilight exchanged a glance and nodded. They thought that they could fly forever, but for the sake of Gylfie they landed on a nearby cactus. The spiky surface did not harm the owls.

While we are here, we should search for the Burrowing Owl from your dream. If you are correct, he will aid us if we find him." Gylfie said.

"Gylfie, are you able to fly low to the ground?" Twiligh asked.

"Yes, I can search the ground for any holes that might host a Burrowing Owl."

"I'll fly higher, listen for any trouble." Soren said.

"And I," Twilight said, "will go find something to eat."

The three owls lifted off of their cactus perches and flew there separate ways. Gylfie was only inches from the ground and she left a small dust trail behind her tail feathers. Twilight soared high and seemed to melt into the moonlight and Soren flew a few feet from the tops of the cactuses.

Minutes passed, turned to hours of flying over the seemingly endless sea of sand dunes and nothing seemed to point toward finding the Burrowing Owl. They had passed by only five burrows, each empty. The night was half over when Gylfie saw foot prints stretching across a dune toward a small burrow.

"Soren, I think I have found something." Gylfie shouted up. "See if you can hear a heart beat."

"Okay Gylfie." Soren tilted his head and picked up a heartbeat. "It's an owl, I think. It is coming from that burrow."

Soren and Gylfie spiraled down and alighted on the sand near the edge of the burrow. "Hello, is anyone here?" soren asked, peering down into the hole

"G-g-go away, please!" a tiny scared voice replied.

"We won't eat you! We are normal owls, like you." Soren said quickly.

"N-normal?" the voice asked. Shifting noises came from in the hole. A tiny head poked out.

"Is this the owl Soren?" Gylfie asked looking at the round yellow eyes of the Burrowing Owl.

"I think so," Soren replied confidently.

The scared burrowing owl looked up at Soren and cringed in fear. "He is one of them! He is one of them!" he screeched and dove back into the hole.

"Soren!" Gylfie glared at him.

"What did I do?" Soren asked, confused and shocked.

"You scared him!"

"But how?"

"I don't know. Just, stay out of sight until I calm him down some." Gylfie motioned for him to leave wit a flick of her wing. Soren walked over to back of the hole and stayed back a few feet.

The Burrowing Owl soon poked his head out of the hole. "Did he leave?"

"Did who leave?" Gylfie asked.

In a hushed tone the owl stammered, "The m-monster."

Gylfie paused when he said these words. "Yes, but how did you know that he was a monster owl?" Although Gylfie knew that Soren was a normal Barn Owl, she wanted to see what caused this owl to panic so badly.

"The eyes," he said quietly, "the black eyes."

"I see," Gylfie replied, although she remembered the owls at St. Aegolius having red eyes, "but aren't the monsters' eyes red?"

"No, not until they ate…" his voice trailed off.

"Who did they eat? It is okay, you can tell me," Gylfie said.

"They ate everyone, mom dad, flick. I was the only one who got away." The owl began to cry.

"I have to tell you this," Gylfie said, "the owl that you thought was a monster, he is a normal Barn Owl. His eyes are naturally black. He and I escaped from the monster owls, those blood thirsty birds."

"So, he won't really eat us?" the timid owl seemed to relax a little.

"No, he's a friend of mine." She beckoned for Soren to return.

Soren approached and made sure he did not sneak up from behind. When he reached the hole he said, "My name is Soren."

"My name is Gylfie." The little Elf Owl said. "I would be delighted to know what your name is."

"I'm Digger." The Burrowing Owl said as he stepped out of his burrow.

This owl was the oddest thing that Soren had ever seen. His face was a lot like Gylfie's, but it was bigger and had round yellow eyes. It had some white feathers above his eyes and brownish feathers around his oddest feature, thought, were his long, featherless legs.

"Good-" Soren was about to swear but Gylfie glared at him.

"Soren was just thinking about letting you come to the Great Ga'Hoole Tree with us, am I right, Soren?" the Elf Owl said, shooting a glare at Soren. She was quite intimidating when she was angry.

"Unh, yeah…" Soren replied, not knowing what the intimidating little owl wanted him to say.

"Let us fly. Digger, we must introduce you to Twilight." Gylfie said.

"I want to run." Digger replied quickly.

"You _want_ to run? Do you not know how to fly?" Gylfie asked.

"Yeah, I can fly, but I can run well, better than I can fly."

Soren and Gylfie exchanged a glance, and then lifted of into the sky. As soon as they were out of Digger's hearing range Soren shouted, "What were you thinking?"

"I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about," Gylfie replied.

"I mean you just coming right out and telling him he can come. I think you acted before you thought it over."

"You said that he was the right owl," Gylfie said calmly, "so I simply made it quick and easy. Less time wasted is best."

"But what if I was wrong, my drean happened in so many flashes that I could have mistaken that owl for this one." Soren sounded very anxious.

"I doubt that you were wrong. If you can feel it in your gizzard, you'll know that you made the right choice."

It was close to dawn when they arrived at the cactus where twilight was waiting for them. He had three mice gripped in his talons. "Wouldn't believe the trouble that I went through to get those mice." He said as the three owls gulped them down. "Took me three hours to get them all. Nope, the desserts not the place for a Great Gray like me."

"Well, we have a long night tomorrow, best sleep now." Soren said.

"Good light Twilight," Gylfie said, beginning a chane of owls saying good light to one another and they drifted of to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5 Bitten

Chapter 5- Bitten

Something stirred Soren from his sleep. It was dim, almost first black. Soren looked around, but there was nothing unusual. "Odd," he muttered to himself.

Suddenly, a familiar male voice sounded. "Soren," it seemed to pulse in his own head.

"w-who's there?" Soren stammered.

"Do you not remember my voice, son?"

Soren suddenly remembered. "Da!"

A low chuckle vibrated in his head, "yes, it is I."

"Why can't I see you? Where are you?" Soren asked excitedly.

"Because I don't want you to see me. I need you to know that your mother and I are gone, forever."

"You mean, to Glamora?" soren asked solemnly.

Glamora was the special heaven for owls' spirits after death. Only the good owls went to Glamora, the rest were tormented in hagsmire forever.

"No, not yet. Your mother and I need to help you, until this is over. You first need to promise us, and yourself, that whatever we say, you will not hold it against us or yourself,"

"Yes, yes! Whatever you have to say, I want to hear it! I haven't heard your voice in so long; I don't care what you want to say." Soren said.

"Very well," his Da said. "I must tell you, that you are facing grave danger."

"Yes, I know, the monsters." Soren said quickly.

"No, you do not understand. Your greatest danger is yourself. But when you need guidance, do not trust your wants, trust only your gizzard."

"Da, what do you mean?" there was no reply. Soren shouted, "DA!!!!" and the sorrowful cry of the Barn Owl seemed to split the dusk, bleeding the darkness of night out istantly, and it made the other owls jump to a start.

"What happened?" Gylfie asked, her heart still racing.

"Nothing. Nothing happened, it was just a dream," Soren said, holding back the sobs in the back of his throat.

"It's dark, we should head out now." Twilight said, trying to change the subject in order to avoid and awkward conversations about dreams and such.

Soon, they were in flight. Gylfie wedged in beside Soren and asked, "What was your dream about Soren?"

"Nothing, really." He replied nervously.

"Soren, spit it out," She said.

"It was just about my Da, okay? Nothing special about it, no visions of the future, so please drop it,"

"I will, just know that if you ever need to talk to someone, I'll be here, always." Gylfie said, and she fell silent.

It was in that silence that soren heard something. Air was moving, very fast under a set of wings. Soren tilted his head and the sound came clear, somebody was high above them and basically right behind them. Suddenly the wing beats stopped and a shrill whistling sound began to fall, directly toward Soren and the group.

"Scatter!" Soren shouted and immediately all four owls separated swerved out of the way as a blur of a Western Screech Owl shot down through directly where they had been grouped together a fraction of a second before.

The speed-blurred owl snapped out its wings and rose on a warm dessert air current. It came in directly beside Soren and said in the hollow, clipped tone of a moon blinked owl, "It's a wonderful evening for flying, 12-1,"

Soren was filled with gut-wrenching horror. 47-2! 

The owl snapped at Soren's wing, missing by the width of a strand of down.

Soren swooped down under 47-2 and raked a talon across her breasts. There wasn't even a ruffle in the feathers, let alone a scratch. Sorens talons were in so much pain, he couldn't help but look down, the pointed tips of each talon was chipped off.

A menacing chuckle sounded from above, "that must hurt terribly. Too bad you left when you did, you could have lived with no pain. Now you will die with the worst pain you could ever imagine!" the owl snapped at Soren again, and would have been caught directly in the throat if the head had not been turned at the last second by an immense grey figure slamming into it straight on.

Soren looked over in time to see Twilight recover from a mid-air summersault. Twilight Shouted, "I feel like I jus ran into a tree!" he directed his voice to 47-2, "Hey, you must be a wet-pooper, cause you sure aren't an owl!"

That idiot Twilight is going to get himself killed, Soren thought to himself.

"Come get me, if you think you can take me out!" Twilight shouted again.

"I'll be back. I want to taste Great Grey!" 47-2 said and bolted toward Twilight. As soon as she did, Twilight tucked in his wings and shot straight down, 47-2 on his tail feathers and rapidly gaining speed, toward the sand below.

Seconds before Twilight plummeted into the sand, he leveled out and hovered parallel to the ground, while 47-2 crashed into the sand dunes. Sand, gravel, and pebbles sprayed all around.

Twilight flew up in the air and looked down at the hole; it was at least ten feet deep. "Take that, you rat-faced bird!" twilight began to show off, doing acrobatic flips, swoops, spirals and rolls in mid-flight.

"Um, Twilight," Soren said. Whe twilight never answered, he shouted, "TWILIGHT! Look down!"

All four owls looked down and saw the earth swelling and trembling. Suddenly the sand dune exploded and a dust smeared 47-2 shot out of the billowing dust cloud. Soren saw only one escape, up.

Soren power flapped straight up the same way that he and Gylfie escaped the boxy canyons of St. Agolius. He always found something that reminded him of the cursed place. Now, flapping straight up into a cloudless night sky, he wondered if this would be his last flight. He looked down and saw no sign of 47-2, or the others. All he saw was the seemingly endless dessert below.

There was a calm feeling, and it made Soren nervous. He stopped his vertical flight and started to spiral down.

There was a sickening lurch, and the pain of a sharp beak wrapping around Soren's left wing bone and the next thing he knew he was upside-down and 47-2 was on top of him with her beak in his wing. They were falling toward the sandy earth at a deadly speed.

"You know 12-1; I'm just going to crash into the ground, with you gripped in my talons. You'll die instantly, no fight. Unless you want to bleed to death as you fall," She said as she jabbed a talon into his side. "I myself would prefer the cleaner one. After all, it would give me more to drink."

"I would rather die, and got to hagsmire, than give you the satisfaction," Soren said between gasps of pain.

47-2's eyes flashed with anger and she stabbed him with her beak. He felt as if he was on fire. His vision became blurry and he lost all sense of what was happening around them as he and 47-2 were still plummeting.

He was almost unconscious, but he still saw the blurry figure of 47-2 suddenly fly off of him, thrown by a discolored Spotted Owl. Soren abruptly stopped descending and his whole body ached. He had landed on the ground. The impact broke both of his hollow wing bones, he had scrapped himself badly on the dessert sand and some of his tail feathers were broken.

Gylfie, Digger, and Twilight soon landed beside him on the sand. Soren gazed up at Gylfie in a daze. "Where am I? W-what happened?"

"You're in Kunneer, Soren. Do you not remember falling?" Gylfie said softly.

It all came back to him in a rush of memories. "Go! Fly away from here!" Soren exclaimed.

"No! We will not leave you here to die!" Twilight said firmly.

"You will leave me here. There is no way that I can fly with two broken wings. Whether or not you leave, I am going to die," Soren said. It was true, he had no hope of escape with broken wings, and he was losing blood by the seconds.

All Soren could do now was to look up into the sky and watch the two monster owls battle to the death. The new owl appeared to be winning, she was upside-down under 47-2, biting and kicking with talons and a beak. There was no blood, surprisingly. Nothing flowed from the wounds in 47-2's wings, breasts or face. By the time it was over, 47-2 was completely mangled and the new owl had hardly a scratch.

It was at this time that Soren recognized the patterned spots on the owl. Though the once colorful feathers that she had were now grey, Soren knew this owl. "Hortense!" he whispered exidedly, a drop of blood dripped off the side of his beak.

"What?" Gylfie asked and bent down to her dying friend.

"Hortense! That owl is Hortense!" Soren paused and took a deep breath. "I am going to die, soon… be strong, for Twilight and Digger. Hortense is here, she can help you."

"Don't say that! You are going to live! We can get through this together, like we always do," Gylfie started to cry. Soren knew that she knew it was true, she was just denying it.

"Gylf, I don't want to leave you, I really don't, but I can feel the call of Glamora," It pained Soren badly to see this little Elf Owl, his best friend, in such great despair. "Promise me, Gylf… promise me that you will stay strong… find the Great Ga'Hoole Tree. Lead Digger and Twilight… they both need a good friend… a friend like you." Soren's eyelids half closed and his eyes rolled back.

"Soren! Don't go! I still need you!" she nudged his head with her beak.

Twilight and Digger stepped closer to Soren. Twilight bent down and placed his ear slits near Soren's still chest. With a look of deep sadness, the Great Grey turned his eyes to the two smaller owls. "He's dead."

* * *

he... he... he... he! BWAH HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!! HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHAHAHA!!!!!!!! I love writing things to leave my readers in suspense. I want to hear your reaction to this chappie! 

c'mmon, press the button. If you do, hudred dollar bils will start shooting out the printer at you! Okay, i lied, but press it anyways. 8)


	6. Chapter 6Living in Death

Sorry I took so long to update, not that it kept many people waiting... But I have a good reason. I was studying for exams and doing homework and stuff.

Don't flame me if you don't like this chapter. I had to write it over all this time, like one paragraph a day.

* * *

Chapter 6- Living In Death

Gylfie began to cry out hysterically. "Soren! Soren, come back!"

"Gylfie, he's gone, forever," Twilight said. He felt an odd feeling in his gizzard, a sort of pain he had never felt before. His natural mind, a direct cause of his being an orphan nearly at hatching, said that they needed to move on, but something new in his gizzard pulled and pushed that thought out of his mind and replace it with something else, could it be sorrow?

Digger, who had only known the Barn Owl for a night, had his head bowed in grief. Twilight wondered if all three of them would go completely yoicks.

The spotted owl gracefully glided down and stood on the sand behind the group. Gylfie saw her and she was filled with rage. "You! Leave, your kind has caused me enough pain for all my years!" She shouted.

"Look," said the Spotted Owl named Hortense, "I know that you hate me right now, you're just angry!"

"Angry? I think that is an under statement! I hate you with every fiber of my body!" Gylfie shouted back.

"Hear me out! I can save Soren if you just allow me to speak!" When Gylfy didn't respond, Hortense continued. "I need help from one of you."

Gylfie stepped toward Hortense.

"Now, this will hurt a bit," Hortense took a gleaming talon and poked it into Gylfie's foot. A tiny dot of blood grew on the little Elf Owl's foot. Hortense quickly picked it up with her beak. Her eyes flashed red and she resisted the urge to swallow the warm, sweet blood. Instead, she spat up some of her liquid poison and mixed it with the blood in her mouth. Hortense edged toward Soren and let the liquid mixture fall into the mouth of Soren, who lie dead on the dessert floor.

A few moments passed, but nothing happened. Twilight began to swell up with anger. "You waste our time, and I swear you will regret being born!"

"I already do, now hush!" The world around them fell silent. Hortense seemed to ready herself to attack, opening up her wings and lifting one foot off the ground.

Soren's eyes shot opened. He yelled, "Blood!" His eyes were blacker than ever, they had lost their usual luster, and were now hard and cold. Horense jumped onto his chest and held him down wit her body weight.

"Give me the blood!" Soren struggled to get free of the Spotted Owl's grip. "I want it! Give it to me!" Soren's voice suddenly got deeper and he screeched as he kicked Hortense off.

He landed on top of Gylfie and pinned her with his talons, but not injuring her. The smell of her blood, and the sound of her heart pumping that blood, made Soren act on his new nature, to kill and to drink.

He slowly dipped his beak toward the crying Elf Owl, and something seemed to try and come out of his gizzard. _Gizzard, _Soren thought, _What is that word?_ His beak was touching Gylfie's soft feathers, but he hesitated.

Something in this owls eyes seemed to calm him.

"Soren," the little owl said, "Please, do not do this to yourself."

Soren backed his beak away slightly. He felt like he knew this owl, from somewhere long ago.

From on the ground, Gylfie saw Soren's eyes glimmer a bit, then flash with anger. She knew that Soren was still there, he was only hidden by the monster on the outside. "Soren, you're better than this. You can't do this to me."

Soren remembered, _Gylfie! _He attempted to stand, but something now had control over him. He felt his talons reach out and poke into Gylfie's side. Soren began to cry inside, but outside he was a monster with no remorse.

Gylfie shreaked from the pain as the talons sank deeper.

_Soren was fighting with all that he had for control over himself. He could see himself fighting with a darker version of himself. The darker was wining; he had Soren pinned with bloodied talons._

Soren's thoughts were jarred when Hortense kicked him off of Gylfie. _He saw his darker self lose balance and Soren took the chance and stood to his feet. Soren stabbed his dark self and pinned him to the invisible ground._

"Run!" Soren shouted as soon as he gained control of himself. The second that he said the sound of the _n_, Dark Soren broke free again.

_Dark Soren bit at Soren's wings and neck, aiming for an instant kill. Soren was in so much pain that he felt that his defeat was at hand, but then he heard Hortense shout._

"Soren, you can fight this. I did, and I know that it's hard, you just need to believe. Love, Soren, if you love you will be free," Hortense said as she held him down.

Soren's mind flushed with memories: Grimble's flight instructions, His mum and da always preening him, Mrs. P's joyfull presence, Eglintine being hatched. All of the people that Soren loved flashed before his eyes. His strength grew and he fought back.

_Soren jabbed his talons into Dark Soren's stomach and chest. A bite to the wing made Dark Soren shudder, and Soren got out of his grip. Soren took wing and dived at Dark Soren, talons extended, and stabbed him in the neck. Dark Soren faded away and Soren flew back into the endless black of his own mind._

Hortense felt Soren stop moving and she stepped off of him. Soren opened his eyes and looked at his friends, but he did not speak. An odd feeling passed over him and he suddenly felt the urge to bite Twilight. He resisted, and instead flew off to find a mouse or two, followed by Gylfie.

"You shouldn't be here," Soren said in his normal voice.

"Nor should you be," She replied.

Soren paused. "What do you mean?"

"Soren, you died. I want to know what it was like, how did it feel?"

"To be honest, Gylf, I never felt anything. To say that Glamoura isn't real, I would be denying my fathers beliefs, but I didn't feel anything."

"Oh," An awkward silence fell over them.

Soren hated this silence; one reason was because he could hear the blood pumping in Gylfie's heart and veins, and the other was that it made him realize that his own heart was not beating. He was truly dead.

Soren soon heard a second heart beat, and he found out where it was coming from. He dove at an alarming speed toward the sound. He nearly had a collision with the desert sand as he grabbed the mouse that was running for shelter under a cactus.

On impulse, Soren ripped the head off of the mouse and squeezed the blood out of the wound down his throat with his beak. It was only then that he realized what his father's words meant. _My greatest danger is myself, _He thought, _if I can't control myself I will kill the ones I love. _Soren threw the mutilated carcass aside; all of the blood was drained.

He didn't feel as hungry now as he had before, but he still felt the desire to attack the closest owl, and that was Gylfie. His eyes went the blackest of black and he lifted his head. Gylfie's tiny heart beat gave off her direct location and Soren instinctively jumped into the air and charged at her. He had new instincts because of the changes in his life, or rather death, and those new instincts were hunt, kill, and drink.

He was five feet from the little Elf Owl with his talons extended and was about to sink them into her. He could see the fear in her yellow eyes, and he felt something click inside of himself that caused him to instantaneously dive.

Soren could never kill Gylfie, that little owl was his life the life that he almost ended once shortly before. Everything good that ever happened to him since he was captured on that horrible night involved Gylfie.

His blood-thirst faded away and he slowly landed on the sand. Moments later Gylfie landed beside him. As nasty as he could possibly sound, Soren said, "Why can't you just leave me alone!?" He saw Gylfie flinch. "I don't want you here, so just go!"

Soren saw a tiny tear form in the Elf Owls eyes. He did not want her to leave, but that is better than hurting her. "GO!!!" Soren lunged at her, but slow enough that she could get away before he made contact.

Gylfie was heartbroken as she flew away. Her stomach was heaving in and out as she gasped for air. She felt like she would pass out in mid-flight from loss of air. She wanted to leave, to go away forever, but she could not bring herself to leave her best friend when he needed her the most. Still, she was too afraid to return to him, so she went back to the other three owls, who were now perched on a tall cactus.

Soren was standing on the top of a sand dune looking over the vast sea of sand. He was extremely angry; angry at the world, angry at himself, and angry at Hortense for turning him into this monster. Thanks to Hortense, he would never be able to be with his parents in Glamoura. He would have to watch Gylfie grow old and die while he was locked inside an immortal body. But the worst part was that he would have to constantly search the world for love because nobody in the world would love a monster like himself. Soren let out a bellowing roar that echoed for what seemed an eternity.

**…**

"Calm down, you're gunna go yoicks if you keep up this rambling," Twilight said to the seemingly hysterical Elf Owl who had been trying to explain something important to them for nearly an hour.

"I… I followed Soren… and he… he…" She broke off and she begain to cry again.

"I think I know what happened," Hortense said as she lifted into the air and flew in the direction that Gylfie came from an hour before.

**…**

Soren still stood alone on the peak of that mountain of sand thinking bitterly to himself when the Spotted Owl, Hortense, arrived and perched beside him. Soren was the first to speak, "Why did you do this to me?"

"I beg your pardon?" Hortense replied.

"Why did you do this to me?" Soren said again and looked at his stomach and talons, which had repaired themselves and were without damage.

"Would you rather have stayed dead?"

"Anything would be better than this, this feeling of constant thirst for the blood of others," Soren stated.

"You will get better at resisting, I know, I've been there too."

"I hate you for this! I would rather be dead than to suffer through watching my friends grow old and die! Thanks to you I will never be able to rest myself in Glamoura! I may get mangled and defeated, but what lies ahead of that?"

Hortense drew in a deep breath, although she needed no air to survive. "It isn't all that bad. We can do so much more than mortal owls. There have even been, on rare occasions, that we Blood Birds have learned how to swim like puffins. We can use these abilities to save the entire world! Do you not think that it is worth living in death so that others may live in peace?"

"Do you think that it is fair to assume that I _want _to give peace to others, or that I would have chosen this over resting in peace?"

"Let me ask Soren, are you so selfish as to bring others down so you can rot in your own self-pity?" Hortense spat the question with rage.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Soren replied defensively.

"I'm talking about Gylfie. You hurt her; she is heartbroken because of you!"

"Just give her time to heal. She'll get over it," Soren said and turned his back.

"A wound may heal, but the scar will remain forever," Hortense saw Soren shift as if he was uncomfortable. "Go back to her, make it right."

Soren turned his head around to face her and asked, "What if she won't forgive me?"

"What if she does? The question isn't whether or not she forgives you, but whether or not you do the right thing. Follow your gizzard; you didn't loose it when I changed you. It's just harder to find."

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So, tell me what you think. If it's good, I really want to know. If it's bad, I want to know even more. I even want reviews from people with no account.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7-

It took a moment for those words to sink in. A _normal _owl would have been affected by those words, but Soren hardly felt a touch from them. Would it ever be possible for a dead owl to have feelings?

Soren gathered all of his thoughts of hunger and blood together and pushed them away. It was hard, harder than anything he had ever done. Soren took flight behind Hortense, who was leading the way back to the other owls.

Soren didn't know what would happen after he returned to Twilight, Digger and Gylfie, and he did not care to think about what would happen. Would he loose control of himself and attack one of them? The main question was would he even care?

"Hortense?" Soren asked.

"What?"

"A while ago, when you said Blood Birds, is that what were called?"

Hortense paused for a moment. "By some, yes. By others, no," she said slowly.

"What all are we called by the normal owls?" Soren hoped that not all of the names would remove owl status.

"Blood Birds is the term used for any species of bird that has been infected. We are sometimes called Vampire Owls, or monsters, Poison of the Sky, rock talons, gizzard-less demons. Some of us have even been called hagsfeinds."

"_Hagsfiends!_" this offended Soren to no end. Hagsfeinds were creatures of pure evil. To think that someone would be that disrespectful as to compare him to such an evil creature was unthinkable. Soren swelled with fury.

"It's good to see that you found at least _one _emotion. Though it may not exactly be the right one," Hortense said as she shook her head.

…

When they finally landed on a separate cactus from the others, but still close by, it was already dawn. The sun was rising and the glare off of the sand was very bright. Soren instinctively tried to shield his eyes with his wing, but noticed that the sun didn't even bother him.

"This just keeps getting better and better," Soren sarcastically muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Hortense asked.

"Oh, nothing."

Soren closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but as soon as his eyes sealed shut, the rest of his senses became stronger. He could suddenly smell, yes, smell the distance away they were from Gylfie and the other two. The scent of the three owls' blood merged together and traveled downwind where it was met by the two monster owls.

Soren temporarily went blank and lashed out toward the scent, but it drifted away on a warm dessert updraft, carrying Soren's bloodthirsty nature. He turned his head sideways and looked at Hortense, who was watching the whole thing.

"You see, you can control it," she stated confidently.

"No I can't! I can only stop when the scent or sound of the blood is gone!" Soren shouted.

"Ah, but you were able to stop. That is the key to unlocking that good that is inside and letting it out."

"Well it's harder than you make it out to be," Soren stated calmly.

"Isn't everything?" She made a quiet laughing sound. "Don't worry soren, I still have trouble with it sometimes, and I've been like this since before you were hatched."

Soren huffed and tucked his head under his wing, the common position for an owl to sleep in.

"Don't bother trying to sleep, it's impossible," Hortense blurted out.

"You have got to be kidding me. Is there anything we _can_ do?"

"Fight, drink, smell, swim, jump. There's plenty we can do." She replied.

"Anything a normal owl can do?"

"Fly," she laughed again. "You have to look at the bright side."

"And what would that be?" Soren questioned.

"That you can protect the people you care about," Hortense looked over at Gylfie and the other two owls. "You have good owls in your life, don't take it for granted."

"Easy for you to say. You've been alone for many moon cycles without companions. You don't know how hard it is to resist."

"Soren, I lived in St. Aggies too. I was like this then. Believe me when I say that I almost lost control in there my first day. Not to mention sitting on eggs endless nights on end. Those eggs had life in them."

Soren paused before asking, "When did this happen to you? When did you turn into a…Blood Bird?"

"Oh, it was about twenty years ago. I was out flying in the canyon lands, before St. Aggies was created, and the bats came. I stood no chance, and before I could blink I was falling, being bitten the whole way down.

"When I finally hit, it didn't hurt. I suspected that I was dead, but then I saw that the bats were still there. I noticed that all of my injuries were gone as well.

"It wasn't until the bats swarmed in for a second round that I realized the power, and evil side, that I now posses. They attacked me; several broke their fangs off as the tried to bite me. I stabbed one of the rodents in the wing and twisted it so fast that it instantly killed him and three others that he smacked into on the way by. After that I went blank and I woke up with blood soaked feathers on my face, but it was not my own blood. That is when I realized what a monster I had become. For years I was afraid of myself, and afraid to be near others.

"I starved myself. I drank no blood for weeks at a time and it made my feathers grey. When I was at St. Aggies the eagles, Zan and Streak, came with a bucket of mouse blood every day so I could keep my color up and my thirst down. I have now chosen to remain fasting so I do not need to kill any more innocent creatures."

"Sorry, you had it worse than I thought," Soren apologized.

"When dusk falls I will be gone," Hortense said looking over the vast swells of sand carpeting the dessert. "I am going to Ambala where I can protect the normal owls there. You will have to continue on alone, unless you wish to remain with your friends, that is."

Soren looked over to the three owls resting upon the cactus. "I used to care about them," he said slowly, "But now I don't know if I am strong enough to be with them."

"Soren, why don't you just admit that you care about them?" Hortense inquired.

"Because owls like us cannot care for anything."

"But we can! It just seems that you choose not to!"

"I try Hortense, but the only thing I see is myself! I am a monster! I am a threat to myself and everyone I have ever loved," Soren shouted angrily, turning to Hortense. As he did so, something caught his eyes; he saw a black cloud moving quickly toward them.

"hortense, what is that?" he asked, not looking away from the speeding mass of black.

"Trouble," she said as she looked toward it. "Fly out to meet them. I'll wake the others and get them to safety. GO!!!!"

Soren did as he was told, though he did not understand why he would want to fly directly into trouble, whatever that trouble was. But it came clear as he approached. Hundreds of crows were quickly approaching.

_That Hortense is trying to get me killed! _He thought to himself bitterly. _That many crows against one owl is no fair match. _Soren attempted to dive below them, but it was too late. He shot straight into the cluster of black birds.

Soren winced as he collided into one crow after the other. It did not hurt him; but the feeling of the bones breaking gave him an odd feeling. Each bird that Soren collided with died instantly.

The scent of the blood made Soren thirsty, he had to kill. One by one, he stabbed the crows with his talons and beak, drinking what he could before the crows spiraled to the ground dead.

The blood tasted strange, it was saltier than the mouse blood, and not as sweet. At first, Soren gagged as it trickled down his thought.

He began to feel something brushing his feathers and he turned around to see what it was. Crows were diving at him from all directions and smashing their heads on his back and plummeting to the ground like rain drops. Though it was rather disturbing and gross, but it amused Soren.

The numbers of crows were quickly dwindling, as was Soren's thirst. Suddenly, a sharp pain erupted in Soren's chest. He looked down and saw that a crow had bitten into him. It was strange, Soren was led to believe that he was invincible, but now he was injured.

Soren attempted to kick the crow off, but it didn't budge. Soren grabbed the bird by the feet with his talons and threw it. The crow charged furiously back at him snapping its beak.

Soren tilted his wings just right and flipped back in the air, kicking the advancing bird in the head on the way around. The crows head jerked back violently and snaped loudly three times. Soren thought it to be dead, but it slowly tipped its head back down. A deep gagging laugh emitted from the bird.

"You cannot win," the crow said mockingly. "I will defeat you for killing my fellow crows!" the crow slashed at Soren with its beak again, jabbing it into Soren's chest again. Soren saw a deep red glow in the crow's eyes. _He is a Blood Bird! _Soren realized. _I must have only injured one of them, and that one became a Blood Bird._

"Believe me! You will gain nothing by defeating me." Soren said, ignoring the pain of his wounds.

"I will gain vengeance!" the crow shouted, and again, stabbed at Soren but missed.

Soren swiped sharp talons at the crow, which quickly dodged and dove for the earth. Soren dove after him, tucking his wings in and tipping his head down to accelerate. Soren was going to fast to stop when the crow went out of his dive and swooped up. He was descending to the ground faster than he had ever moved before, and he knew that there was no hope to slow down as he neared the sand.


	8. Chapter 8 Gone

Chapter 8- Gone

It felt as if life slowed, and Soren touched the sand with his beak. Sand sprayed as he went deeper. Head, wings, body, and feet became submerged. The air got darker and the sand was moister as he descended deeper and deeper, until he finally slowed to a halt.

Pushing the sand away with his wings and talons, he turned so he was facing the top of his hole. It was just a point of light, far of in the distance. Soren must have traveled over fifty feet into the fine sand.

Soren looked at his damaged chest, and he noticed that it was slowly repairing its self. _It must take longer to heal in the light._

Looking up now, he realized how great of a gift this actually was. A normal owl would have died on impact, but he could walk away unscathed. And to go so fast as to crash into the sand fast enough to go so very deep after hitting was remarkable.

He slowly climbed the walls of the deep hole, jabbing foot after foot into the soft sand. In a few spots, the sand let loose and Soren slid down a few inches before getting a hold once again and climbing ever so slowly to the surface.

_This is stupid! _He realized, _Here I am taking my precious time when there are owls up there to save!_

Soren released his hold on the sand and extended his wings. They were poking into the walls because they were too long for the width of the narrow tube-like hole. Soren began to flap his wings as if to fly through the sand. To his surprise, the sand let loose and he rose. Sand piled on his back, but did not get through his first layer of feathers. Little by little, wing beat by wing beat, Soren was drawing nearer to the surface.

There was no light now; the sand was piled to high on Soren's back to let any light through. Soren's bloodless wound was quickly healing now, and he was rising faster.

It seemed to be taking forever to reach the surface, but Soren continued upwards.

He was just thinking that he should have reached the surface when he eploded through a sand dune without warning, firing grains of sand everywhere so fast that they would be embedded into any creature within range in an instant.

Luckily, the others were far off somewhere safe, but the crow was gone as well. Panic stricken, Soren flew high in the air so he might have a chance to see Hortense and the owls, and possibly the crow.

Dusk was settling and the sky glowed with different shades of purple, red, orange and blue, but orange was the dominant color. He flew up into the stained glass sky. It seemed that Soren was flying in a dream, where nothing and everything could go wrong in the blink of an eye.

There was no sign of either the owls or the crow. Soren attempted to pick up a heart beat or something that might lead him to the owls, but there was no sound except for the low whistle of the wind and the wishing of the shifting sands.

Soren flew to the area where they first spotted the crows, but there was still no sigh of them. However, the scent of their blood still remained in the air. Soren did not feel hungry after the feeding he got from the crows, but the blood's scent still made him crave.

Being sure to control himself, he flew up the air current which carried the smell. 0He was only flying a short while when the smell vanished. He made a sharp banking turn, and the smell returned.

_They're down there, _Soren thought to himself as he slowly spiraled down for a landing. As he lost altitude the smell became stronger than before, as well as Soren's craving.

_I can smell as good as a wolf, _Soren thought. He had never seen a wolf before, but he was told stories about them by his da when he was younger. As soon as he remembered his da, something twitched inside of him, where his gizzard used to rest. Maybe he was finally beginning to _feel _something.

Soren landed softly on a patch of sand that had been disturbed. He could hear three heartbeats and slow breaths, muffled by the sand and something else. It was quiet even for him, who had advanced hearing to begin with along with all of his senses being increased; a normal Barn Owl would not even hear it.

Soren began to carefully dig down into the sand with his talons. It felt awkward, since he was not a Burrowing Owl. It was a few inches before he reached a cluster of grey, spotted feathers, Hortense.

"Hey, it's me, Soren." Soren said loud enough so that they could hear.

The sand shifted and Hortense poked her head out of the hole and saw Soren's face, stained from the blood of the crows. She looked disgusted, but she slowly climbed out of the sand. When she was moved, Soren saw that Twilight, Gylfie and Digger were also in the hole, beneath Hortense.

"How did you find us?" Gylfie asked curiously.

"I… I could smell you," Soren replied, a dull worry that he would be unaccepted because of it creeping into his cold, dark gizzard. Realizing the small emotion made soren feel warm inside, and he attempted to hold onto that feeling for as long as he could, but it soon faded, leaving him as cold and empty as before.

"Oh," Gylfie gasped, seeing Soren's bloody face.

_I am scaring them_, Soren thought as he looked at the the sets of eyes that were fixed onto his face. _They fear for their lives, and I don't blame them. _He looked deeply into Gylfie's eyes and he saw himself, his reflection, in her yellow eyes. He saw a red beak. He saw his eyes, blacker than the moonless nights, and his face. His once pure white facial disk was now red at the beak and blood splatters were smeared over his whole body, giving him an appearance that would send chills down a grizzly's spine.

Soren's guts wrenched and he spat out a pellet-sized red gob. He looked at it and suddenly grew cold in his heart. _This is what is going to happen every time I drink, a ball of blood to replace pellets. If there were but one part of me that was normal I might be able to live through this death._

Hortense stepped up to Soren and whispered in his ear.

"Can I talk to you for a second?"

Soren nodded and followed her away from the group. As soon as they were out of hearing range, Hortense asked, "Soren, what are you doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"Crows are birds too."

"You think I don't know that?"

"I know that you know that, it's just that if you can kill any bird with no remorse, it will become easier to kill owls."

"Do I honestly have a choice? Do you think that I could actually fight these cravings?"

"I would not expect you to stop drinking blood; you would end up turning gray like me. No. What I expect is that you would not place yourself in the spot where you could hurt everyone around you."

"Hortense," Soren said hotly, "I would not be in this spot if you didn't try to play Glaux. I was meant to die, but you brought me back. I was meant to be with my friends, but because of you I am an emotionless shell doomed to be alone for eternity. This is your fault entirely!"

There was a brief pause, and Hortense wanted to change the subject.

"You're not invincible," she stated openly. You can be destroyed if you are injured severely. That is how we die. We must be ripped into pieces and cast to the ground to rot. If not, we will survive forever.

"We also age, just not as quickly as a normal owl would. The passing years and decades will wear down your appearance but will not kill you."

"How slow do we age?" Soren asked

"A year will age you one night." She said slowly. "I have been around for twenty years, but I am only twenty nights older."

"So, I will be basically this same age when everyone I know now will be dead. That seems hardly fair," Soren said, burning with anger inside.

"It can't be helped. You're stuck like this forever."

"No. There has to be another way."

Soren stretched out his wings and began to lift, but he was interrupted by Hortense.

"Soren, I must go soon," she said, "I can't be here to watch you forever. I have my home, my friends that I need to protect."

"I can't do this by myself yet!"

"Soren! Listen to me, I know that you can do this. Find your gizzard and follow it. From now on, you're on your own."

"Hortense, please." Soren said quietly. "I don't want to hurt them."

Soren felt a bulge in his throat and his eyes got sore. _Am… am I crying?_ His question was soon answered by the warm liquid that ran from his eye to his beak, and from his beak it dripped to the ground.

"Soren, you care about them. Just remember that. Goodbye," And then she was gone, fading into the horizon, a tiny dot of black in the purple sky.

With tear blurred eyes, Soren stretched his wings and with a single down stroke he was ten feet off the ground. He had to get away from all of this madness. There had to be an escape. Soren did care about his friends, but he didn't want to hurt them. The only way he could ensure that was to leave them and go on alone.

He headed toward Gylfie and the others, working a goodbye up in his head as he flew. It was less than a minute to get to the spot where the three owls still waited for him and Hortense to return.

"Where's Hortense?" Digger asked.

"She's not coming back." Soren stated quietly.

"What do you mean?" Twilight questioned.

"I mean she's gone, for good. She went home." Soren answered angrily.

Twilight took a step back. "Sorry."

"Soren, whats wrong?" Gylfie stepped forward, so she was inches away from him and looked up into his black, hard eyes.

"I just can't take this anymore. I don't want to hurt any of you. I need to go on alone." Soren said quietly.

"No! Soren, don't go. I need you!" Gylfie cried.

"Gylfie, the only thing you need from me is to stay away. I almost killed you before. I can't take that chance again. Please don't make this any harder than it has to be."

"It won't happen again! You can control yourself now!" she stepped closer and brushed her head into his wing. "See?"

"Get away!" Soren shrieked and pushed her to the ground.

She lay there crying in the sand with a shattered heart.

"I'm… I'm so sorry Gylf—" Soren started, but was cut short.

"Shut up! Can't you see that you hurt her?!" Twilight interrupted.

"I was just trying to help." Soren said softly.

"Yeah, well you have helped enough. If you're going, then go!"

Soren took flight and was gone in seconds, leaving Twilight gently folding his wing around Gylfie to comfort her.

_They don't need me. I'll just end up hurting them. This is for their own good._ Soren tried to convince himself those things, but nothing helped. _Oh, who am I trying to fool? They don't even want me around. I scare them, I'm just a nightmare to them._

Soren let one more tear fall to the ground before he closed of his emotions and thoughts, letting his dark side have control.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi all! I admit this chapter kinda sucks. But i _did_ try.**

**I am on vacation in Florida today.**

Disclaimer: what is short, simple but very irritating? Ill tell you later.

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Chapter 9- The Hunt

Living like the monster Soren had become was a cold and lonely existence. All there was were the constant thirsts which often increased when he neared a living creature. He knew that if he reached the Tyto forest he would find what he was looking for, the blood of an owl.

Flying at full speed, which was faster than a normal owl, he reached the forest by sunrise. The tall needled trees brushed the sky and cast dazzling rays of light on the ground. Hundreds of sounds all reached his ears. Raccoons digging, tiny hearts beating, the sound of a light breeze streaming through the trees, and a gurgling stream of water were just a few. Soren ignored these sounds, for he was after a bigger prize, owls.

A heartbeat reached his ears. He smelled the air. _There it is. _His eyes darkened even deeper black and he flew to the hollow where the sound and smell was coming from.

He lighted onto a branch on the tree, right beside the hollow. He peered inside and saw his victim, a male Barn Owl who had just recently reached the age to mate. His mate was sitting on a nest of eggs, just laid nights ago.

Soren instinctively attempted to gain their trust, a common hunting skill for Blood Birds when they wish to be silent. He stepped into the entrance of the hollow and gently greeted, "Hello," Two round, white faces angled up to see who had spoken.

"Hello?" the male owl asked. "Oh, I'm sorry. Were we expecting you?"

Soren spoke again. "No, but I need your help."

"What do you need? We don't have much to offer you," the female asked.

"It's hard to speak of, but I just lost my tree and my mate in a fire," Soren made his voice crack.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," The male turned to his mate and they exchanged glances.

"We may have room for you here, that is until you find a new place to settle," She said, then glanced at her eggs.

Soren made himself look concerned, "I see, if it would be too much trouble I could stay somewhere else…" Soren trailed his voice off.

"No, no. We'll have none of that now. You are our guest now. We would be glad to help any Tyto," The male spoke.

_Hmh, fools. All I need now is a good chance, and to hope they don't notice the absence of my heartbeat,_Soren laughed in his mind at how easy this was.

"Come, come! Out of the cold now."

Soren hadn't even noticed that the air was chilled in the night. He stepped into the hollow. He looked around and took in the smells of blood and insects. Maybe _the eggs would be good dessert_

"I couldn't thank you enough," Soren said, trying to hold himself back until they least expected it.

"Helen, will you please clean the corner for our guest?" The male asked politely.

"Yes, sir," Soren looked down and saw an eyeless snake with green scales slide past him, lightly brushing him with her forked tongue. She flipped her head up and, if she had eyes, she would have been glaring at him.

_She seems to know something, _Soren thought. _Oh well, she can die too._

She disgustingly chomped on some small bugs in the corner. _How can one eat something with such little blood? _

It took very little time to ready the corner. When the snake, Helen, was finished she glanced back at Soren and slithered past the female and said, "I don't trust him ma'am. Watch him close."

"Do we ever have a guest that you _do_trust?" she laughed quietly. Her laugh was rather attractive, as well as her features. However, she was a meal to Soren, not a companion.

Soren's stomach groned with hunger.

"Are you hungry?" the male asked Soren.

"Starving," He replied, his stomach lurching again.

"I was about to go hunting. I could catch you a vole if you'd like?"

"That would be wonderful," Soren said, his muscles tense with excitement. _Get the male away, then the female and eggs are mine! I'll be gone before he realizes who, or what, I am._

"goodbye dear, I'll be back soon," The male said and he left the hollow, and a vulnerable mate with eggs.

"That was awfully trusting of your mate, to leave you alone with me," Soren said, stepping towards her.

"Well, we trust you. Besides, I know how to fight," She said factually.

"Do you now," _This will be more fun than I thought_. "So, he should return soon?"

"That's right, Joseph is an excellent hunter," She said proudly.

"Well, I'm quite the hunter myself," Soren said, taking another step closer.

"Really?" she shifted slightly, nervously.

"Oh, yes," Soren paused. "I was thinking of doing a little hunting right now."

"Oh, well I must say that you're free to do what you wish, but is a vole not enough?"

"No, I was thinking something a little bigger," Soren stepped a little closer, he was close enough to reach her, but the plan was to block any escape as well.

The snake spoke up, "Ma'am, you remember those monsters who have been terrorizing the kingdoms?"

_She knows! This has to end now! _He grabbed the snake and threw it across the hollow. He stepped forward and reached for the owl just as the snake recovered.

"He is one ma'am! Fly!" The foolish snake shouted.

Soren swiped with one talon, but missed by a fraction of an inch. She bolted out the hollow and dove toward the ground, Soren right behind her the whole way.

At the last moment she stretched her wings and shot herself back into the air. Soren saw her and he did the same, but cut off some of the angle by doing it earlier.

The owl disappeared into a clump of denser forest. Soren couldn't rely on his sense of sight, or sound because Barn Owls were known for silent flight. He has to smell and feel the air of her wing beats, he could possibly hear a heartbeat.

"Aaaag!" Soren heard a shout from behind and truned in time to see the female owl charging at him holding a stick out as if to stab him.

He flapped powerfully once and picked up out of the way. There was a bit of a thud, and Soren turned to see that she had impaled a rotten tree with no branches. Soren slammed into the tree as well, but he placed his foot around her neck pinning her to the tree. He didn't harm her, he just wanted to have a little fun.

"Let's play a little game," Soren whispered in her ear, a dark tone seeping into his words. "You can fly away and try to hide, and I'll come get you. That sounds fun," Soren chuckled. "If you're caught, I'll kill you," Soren paused to think of the conditions. "and if you escape by sunrise, you are free to go. Although you'll probably be mobbed by crows anyway," Soren laughed again.

"You can't win," The owl spoke quietly. "The Guardians will stop you, all of you bloodthirsty monsters."

"Who said I was with _them_? I am my own; I am more powerful than that half brained Skench!" Soren tightened his grip.

"You think that you could stand against the Guardians, alone?" She asked mockingly.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you now."

"We wouldn't want you to miss out on your _fun _now, would we?" She said.

"You're stalling now!" Soren fumed. "Go, hide like the coward you are." Soren released his grip and the owl escaped and flew away.

"Fly, you fool. I'll get you later," Soren turned and flew back to the hollow.

When he arrived, the snake was still there, coiled around the eggs to protect them. _A vain attempt. _Soren grabbed the snake and held her over the edge of the hollow. "Don't worry, if the fall doesn't kill you, the raccoons will finish the job." Soren dropped Helen off the edge. She caught herself on a branch five feet down. _Lucky little pest. _Soren thought as he stepped to the nest.

He picked up one egg and was about to break it open to drink the small amount of blood that would be in the pre-mature chick, when an oddly familiar voice sounded. "Goodness child! What are you doing?" a rosy scaled snake appeared out of nowhere.

"Moving the eggs," Soren said as he gently set it down again.

"I do not think you should be here child," the snake spoke again. She slithered up to Soren and Soren noticed that this snake had no eyes as well.

The snake gently began to brush her tongue on him, as well as hovering her head around his body. She gasped. "It cannot be!"

"What are you doing?" Soren asked.

"It _is _you! Oh, Soren! I have missed you so. Where have you been, I thought you were dead?"

"Who are _you_?" Soren asked, confused.

"Do you not remember me? It has been a long time, I suppose. You were just a chick when… when he pushed you,"

"What are you saying? We know each other?" Soren was so confuse that he forgot what he was doing.

Suddenly a shout from outside interrupted, "Mrs. Plithiver! Mrs. Plithiver, is that you?"

The rosy snake slithered over to the edge of the hollow. "Helen? What on earth are you doing down there?"

"He threw me out here!"

"What? Are you sure you didn't just fall?"

"That child is a monster! He tried to kill me and my masters!"

_Will that creature ever shut up? _"I did no such thing!" Soren said, pretending to be offended.

The snake, Helen whispered, "He's a _Blood Bird!"_

Mrs. Plithiver gasped. "Oh, Soren, I'm so sorry."

"How can you feel sorry for this monster!?"

"He was part of the family that I served! His name is Soren. I helped his parents bring him into this world. He is no monster!"

"Soren, the chick that was snatched some time ago? He should be older! This is not him!"

Soren was beginning to get tired of all this babbling. He was getting hungrier too.

"Soren, I know you are a good owl." Mrs. Plithiver stated.

"Mrs. Plithiver! Get out of there!" Helen shouted.

"You can make the choice of who you are! How you act is your choice alone! You do not need to release yourself to your instincts as a Blood Bird." Mrs. Plithiver said, ignoring Helen's advice to escape.

Soren began to remember something, or rather someone, a small owl with yellow eyes staring up at him with a sad expression. Then the image faded and he saw himself, the monster, staring back at him in his mind.

"It is easier to follow instinct." Soren said out loud, but he also saw his dark half say it in his mind as well.

"That may be so, but it is not always the right way."

Soren wanted to agree, but his dark half spoke to him. _Don't even think about it. Without me you're nothing. _"This is the right way. I was created to hunt, kill, and feed off of those owls weaker than myself. That is my duty in this world," Soren unwillingly said.

"Don't be afraid to change. If you are anything like your father was—"

"My father is dead! If he were strong he would still be here." Soren said angrily.

"Your father was a great owl! He was strong, noble, and pure. He loved you more than you will ever know," Mrs. Plithiver said.

"Mrs. Plithiver! Get out of there before he kills you!" Helen shouted again.

"Helen, be quiet!" Mrs. Plithiver hissed.

"Maybe she's right. I might hurt you," Soren said mockingly.

"No, you won't. I know you won't," Mrs. Plithiver.

Soren stepped closer and grabbed Mrs. Plithiver with his talons. He picked her up and looked at her. You know, I've really developed a hatred for snakes tonight," Soren took flight and lifted high above the ground, even the treetops.

"Let's do a little experiment. I'm going to drop you and see if I can hear you hit the ground!" Soren let go of the rosy scaled snake and watched in amusement as she began to fall.

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So if you want to know the awnser to my previous question, send me a review. I am getting desperate for reviews now (i think im addicted)

Please tell me what you think about my story. If you dont like it then tell me. Give me advice on how to make my writing better.


	10. Chapter 10

**READ THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! **I was seriously going to deleat this story, but a single review got me moving again. anyone who cares, send your thanks to Lunar the dragon in a review so she/he can read it. she/he saved Blood Birds. i hope the wait was enough to get you people telling me weather or not you want me to continue. she/he was my first reviewer for this story in over 3 months, and if it takes this long again i will assume you dont like the story and i will drop it and delete it off of the site.

thank you for your attention.

i don't own GOG or any of the characters in this story

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Chapter 10

The snake was twisting through the air as it fell at increasing speeds. A morbid excitement welled inside of Soren. He began to count down in his head. _Three…two…one!_ Soren listened for the sound of shattering bones, but as soon as the snake would have slammed into the ground, something shot down, grabbed it, and was gone before Soren could make out the shape.

He dove toward the ground and dodged tree branches as he sped through the forest in the direction of whatever had caught the snake. Soren could hear light wing beats and a hushed voice ahead, then there was silence.

Soren landed on a branch of a dead tree and looked around. The sun was rising, casting red and purple light over the forest. No creature is meant to be in the light," he muttered to himself. The branch gave a tiny tremor and Soren looked beside him, seeing a tiny Elf Owl staring up at him. At once the scent of blood from this owl made his mouth water.

"Soren, come back. We still need you, I still need you," she said softly.

"Do I know you?" Soren asked, getting annoyed with these animals babbling on about who he was.

"Yes Soren, we know each other, and I know that you know what you're doing is wrong," she said sternly.

Soren laughed out loud. "so, its _wrong _to survive, is that what you're saying?"

"No, what I'm saying is that you are killing to survive, and surviving to kill," the owl paused, "That is why what you are doing is wrong. You have no reason to exist, aside from killing and feeding off of owls weaker than yourself. That is not the Soren I know,"

"Oh, now that hit deep. But I'm not one for feelings," Soren said and stepped forward, "All this speaking with lesser creatures is getting tiresome, and I'm starting to get hungry," Soren grabbed the tiny owl with one foot and held her to the trunk of the tree while he tipped his sharp beak toward her neck.

It felt so good to pierce the soft flesh, almost as satisfying as the scream of terror and pain that ripped the morning air. As he drank in his firs fill, he realized that this was sort of a waste. To simply kill the victim and cast the body aside when he could create a more powerful being out of it.

Soren stopped drinking the sweet blood and allowed some of his own poisonous saliva into the flow of blood. He quickly took his beak out and covered the wound with his foot to hold in the remaining blood, letting the venom spread and mix as it passed through an ever slowing heart, until it stopped all together.

She was still breathing, a successful transformation. However, she was calm. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at Soren with dark golden eyes eyes.

"Why, Soren?" she asked. "Why did you do this to me?"

The memories of his life, before being a monster, flashed through his mind and stopped on an image of this owl standing before him. She was crying, begging him to come back. But he was gone. Soren felt pain in his chest and his throat seemed to swell as he stared at this confused and hurt owl. The sun began to burn his eyes. he shaded them with a opened wing.

"Why? How could you turn me into this? How? Knowing how hard it is for yourself, knowing that you have given up all hope of getting into the Great Ga'Hoole Tree, how could you be heartless enough to do this to me? HOW?!" The tiny owl shrieked and lunged for Soren's chest.

"Shutup!" Soren knocked the owl's talons aside and slammed her head into the tree. Even with her new strength Soren easily over powered her. "I gave you a better life! I gave you strength! You can rot in hagsmire before I regret my gift! You selfish creature! It was a mistake to spare your pathetic life. I should have taken my fill and cast your empty corpse aside!" Soren put more pressure on her head and she shrieked in pain. "you are a week, pathetic creation." He whispered in her ear. "I failed, there is no reason to allow your life as a blood bird to continue. Time for you to die, permanently."

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hope people like clif hangers. if you review i will post again ASAP.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"That stupid frinkin' owl!" Twilight stormed. He was angrily pacing the branch on the dead tree they had found somewhere on the border between Kuneer and Ambala.

"Calm down twilight! You're going to break the branch!" Digger pleaded as he was being shaken by the vibrations Twilight was causing.

"CALM DOWN! That gull-skull owl is going to get herself killed, and you're telling me to CALM DOWN!"

"She just went to get Soren to come back after _you _made him leave!"

"Gylfie is chasing a monster! You want to let her make the last mistake in her life?"

"Well, there's nothing we can do. We don't know where she went, and even if we did we would never catch up."

"She only has a ten hour head start! If we hurry, we can make it."

"uhh, Twilight, that doesn't change the fact that we don't know where they are."

"I KNOW!" Twilight shouted.

"Think, if she does get killed, it's already over. If she manages to save Soren, where is the first place they'll head?"

"Well I don't know," twilight put a wing over his face, trying to figure it out.

"They'll go the Ga'Hoole Tree!"

"Oh… I knew that!"

"You can stop acting smarter than you really are, I can see through it."

"What did you say?" Twilight asked, anger lighting in his face.

"um… I was…uhh…" Digger dove off of the tree branch and started running.

Twilight was shouting incoherently, and Digger could only catch a few words as an angry Great Gray swooped over his head over and over again.

"STUPID…………I……..KILL YOU!"

After an hour of relentless chasing, Twilight settled enough to listen to what Digger had to say.

"We have to go the rest of the way to the Ga'Hoole tree on our own," Digger Stated.

"I guess you're right. There's still time to head out today, lets get moving," Twilight finally began to think logically instead of violently.

" let's head out. If I'm right, we need north-northeast to get to the Island of Hoole."

"If you're right. _If _you're right?"

"well, I'm not as good of a navigator as Gylfie or Soren, but I can almost feel the Island calling to me from that direction." Digger pointed with an outstretched wing. "Yes, it must be that way," He took flight.

"Were done for," Twilight said to himself as he too spread his wings and lifted into the air.

…

Snarling, Soren gradually squeezed the small owls head tighter and tighter. The literal grip of death closed in on Gylfie. Her vision was swimming with white blotches and Soren laughed darkly. He moved his talons and scratched lines in the small feathers on her head. Soren licked his beak.

Soren jerked his foot sideways and there was a deafening snap. Gylfie went limp, and Soren released her. The bird fell from the tree, spinning and twirling until she reached the ground, one wing twisted underneath her pimp body, the other stretched open beside her. He head was turned at an impossible angle, and her tongue was hanging out of an opened beak.

Soren peered down, and his eyes narrowed as he glared at the bird. His glare began to transform, and it became a satisfied and content expression as he replayed the death of his once best friend over in his mind. Without another thought, and with no regret, he turned and flew off toward the north, leaving his forgotten home behind.


	12. Chapter 12

Hoary for short chapters! I have used quotes from the first book "the Capture" in this story, from page 27 and 28. I needed them for the plot, not becuse i lost my creativity or anything. My writing has a really good chance of slowing down... a lot. i am going to be busy making my marks in school as good as possible so i can get lots and lots of money to go to college. please respect this and know that i am not quitting my "career" of writing, just putting it in slow motion for a while.

On that note, here is chapter 12! hope you enjoy, sorry about the length...

~12~

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"Ugh, how are we supposed to see in this crap?" Digger whined as he and Twilight flew through the dense fog on the churning green sea.

"I can see fine," Twilight stated. "I can see in the twilight hours, when it isn't light or dark, the most difficult time to navigate for us owls."

"Twilight, Quit boasting, not everyone had to be brought up in your School of Tough Learning."

For once, Twilight had no reply. He just flew silently until Digger spoke.

"Where do you think Soren is?"

There was a pause before Twilight answered. "Don't know, don't care. Soren died the day he became that monster."

"Twilight, What is your problem? You act as if it was his choice!"

"You wanna' defend that gull brained feather flipper after what he did to Gylfie? Figure out what side you're on, Digger."

"I'm on the right side, are you? You are the one who turned Soren away, and you alone!"

"He was going to leave anyway! I don't see what your problem is," as always, Twilight denied any involvement with the situation.

"Maybe so, but you had no reason to completely shove him away."

"HE HURT GYLFIE!" Twilight shrieked. "Why is that so hard for you to understand? And he had no reason to; he just shoved her to the ground and took off."

Digger mumbled something under his breath.

"What did you say?" Twilight demanded angrily.

"I said he had a reason."

"Really, and what reason would that be?"

"He wanted to give us a reason not to follow him," Digger said quietly and flew on ahead.

…

The sun was high in the sky, at approximately noon, when Mrs. Plithiver sensed something was wrong. She cautiously slithered over to the area where the battle had commenced, and her soft underbelly slid across a warm, sticky puddle. Blood.

She felt around, and touched a fluffed patch of feathers, cold and lifeless. The neck of this small bird had been shattered, and the wing bones as well. This was the owl that had saved her life. The owl that had been murdered by Soren.

_What has this come to? _She asked in her mind, _How could little Soren have fallen so far?_ Felling compassion for the young owl who had died for her, Mrs. Plithiver straightened the head and wings, preparing the body so that she could burry it in branches. It was the best a blind old snake could do.

There was a loud pop, and the owl's head jerked to a normal position, and the wings somehow fused back together. The owls eyes fluttered open and stood up, gasping for air.

_Of course! A blood bird must be torn apart and left to rot or burn in order to die! _ Mrs. Plithiver thought excitedly.

Gylfie looked around, the scent of her own blood filling her mind, making her hunger. A mouse scuttled by, not sensing the danger of the owl. Gylfie simply grabbed it, and drained it of all life.

Something about the way she was behaving made Mrs. Plithiver realize something. This owl was not acting savagely, she was acting like a child first learning the ways of life. The snake slid over, and spoke. "Excuse me?"

Startled, the small owl replied, "what?"

"What is your name?"

The owl paused, flashes of memory returning to her. _"Who are you? What are you? Why do you have yellow eyes?" _she remembered a small barn owl chick asking, so many nights ago. She remembered that she had answered, _You see what I mean! That is the last thing that you should worry about. But I'll tell you. I am an Elf Owl,"_ Everything all came back to her at once,"My name is Gylfie! I have to help Soren!"

She spread her wings to lift off, but Mrs. Plithiver spoke again, "Wait! Do you know which way he was going to go?" he would be heading north of here."

"But how do you know? Because, all blood birds are supposed to have a natural desire to destroy their friends and family, then to destroy the one enemy they have left."

The realization hit the snake, "the Island of Hoole!"


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13~

The wind howled as the great grey owl, followed closely by a burrowing owl, flew on into the storm. It tore at their feathers, threatening to dismantle them piece by piece. Digger followed in Twilights wake, since Digger's wings were not as strong as Twilight's.

A thick mist cut at their faces, wielded by the wind. Luckily, Twilight was a natural at seeing in these types of conditions, along with the dim lighted hours between the evening and the night.

"We're above water!" Twilight exclaimed.

"How can you tell?" Digger questioned.

"The mist smells like the Sea of Hoolemer, and I can hear the lapping of water!" He tried to sound his voice above the waves.

"We can't be far now," Digger said, "I just know Gylfie will be there!"

"We can hope."

They flew onward toward the fabled island. Eventually, the wind let up and the light breeze shaped the air for some easy gliding; it was then that Digger spoke.

"Twilight," He said, gaining the attention of his audience of one.

"Yeah?"

"Why are you such a pessimist?"

"Me? A pessimist? Never," he said, attempting to dismiss the conversation.

"I'm serious!"

"Look, Digger," he turned his head towards me, "I am going to be frank with you. I've seen too much bad to yarp a pellet for any good that might exist."

"You think you're the only one with problems?"

"I think I'm the only one who's had as rough of a time as I have!" He shouted.

"I watched one my brothers get eaten! You think that's easy? You think that just because you grew up in _'the School of Tough Learning' _that you had it worse than anyone else. Get over it! You aren't alone anymore but you keep pushing people away."

"You know nothing about me! NOTHING!"

Twilight was fuming. He flew ahead and cursed under his breath. Digger was angry as well; it didn't go as planned at all. His only intention was to find out why twilight was so hateful towards Soren, just because he had become a Blood Bird.

The wind was picking back up again; a splash of water licked the burrowing owls face. He followed twilight from a distance, in attempts to avoid further conflict. Suddenly, there was a loud screech. Digger began to panic, and Twilight circled back to Digger, coming in close beside him.

"Did you hear that?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, what was it?"

"I don't know, it sounded like one of those monsters."

"I wonder if it was Soren!" Digger exclaimed.

"I sure hope not, I never want to see him again! If I saw that fiend one more time I would rip his head off and shove it down his throat! All those blood birds are the same! Cowards!" at just that moment, something slammed into twilight with hurricane force. A few feathers flew away from his body and there was a splash of blood in the night.

Twilight was falling, with a huge wound down the center of his back. He hit the water and sank like a rock, followed by a black streak which dove into the waves. Digger was looking around frantically, then he was struck as well, but from underneath by a long eared owl with evil in his eyes. Jutt was holding digger with his strong feet as the plunged into the waves.

Digger tried frantically to get away from the owl, but Jutt just emitted a cackling, hoarse laughter. They were under water; the one place an owl would never belong, and this would be his grave. Jutt raised a foot full of sharp talons and thrust it forward, but before penetrating, he was thrown sideways by a force so powerful Digger was hurled through the water and twisted around like a top.

Digger could hardly see, but he felt large talons gently close around him and lift him out of the water. He looked up into the face of a large snowy owl, and then blanked out.


	14. Chapter 14

my greatest and sincerest apologies for the delay... my F key broke and only recently did it start working again lol.

* * *

Chapter 14~

Salt air snaked into Soren's nostrils. He could smell it; taste it. But there was another fragrance in the air; the blood of his next target, a Great Grey owl accompanied by a Burrowing owl.

He flew inches above the waves, dipping his talons in the water and slicing thin lines. One purpose, one desire in the whole world; _kill. _He couldn't remember what happened, why he had the strong hatred for these owls, but he wanted their blood more than anything else.

A stray wave shot up in front of the barn owl and he simply cut through it like a shark. _I need no-one. I will destroy the Great Grey; rip him limb from bleeding limb. Then, I will show them my power. They will all submit themselves to me. The tree will be mine! _ These thoughts kept his wings pumping as he pushed on toward the tree, where he intended to draft his army.

**...**

A demonic glow flashed in the blood bird's eyes as Skench witnessed the Shadow forest going up in ash and smoke. There was a large mountain of tree branches structured to house the St. Aegolious' Army. "Spoorn!" the monster growled.

"The master speaks, I obey," Spoorn said as he bowed his head to his superior.

"Tell me news of 47-2's return."

"Forgive me master, but I have nothing to report."

Just then, a small, grungy owl rushed up to Spoorn and whispered in his ear. His look was first of anger, then transformed into disappointment.

"Skench, I regret to inform you that a scout has found the remains of 47-2 in the desert. It would seem that there was a blood bird on the side of the young fugitives. Also, the scout heard multiple witnesses of the group dividing and going separate directions."

"I see," The Great Horned Owl clicked hard talons on its perch.

The small owl began to step away from Spoorn slowly, and Skench spoke, "Wait!"

The owl stopped up, and swallowed hard, knowing his own fault. "Supreme Master, I humbly offer my best to you and your quest."

"I have something to," Skench paused, "Discuss with you."

"I am listening," the small owl bowed his head.

"You came into my presence without my consent or order."

"I had urgent news to share with my master," he said and shifted slightly.

"You are in violation of the service code," Skench said to the owl.

"F-f-f-f-forgive me, please!" The small owl shrank back in fear.

"You know there is no mercy capable of pardoning the penalties of insubordination."

"Why?" the owl blurted out the question withouth thinking. It was too late, the owl had uttered one of the forbidden words.

The Great Horned owl twisted its head from side to side slowly, and stared at the shivering owl. "you are a very, very naughty bird," Skench glided down and lighted in front of the quaking owl.

"Please! I didn't mean it! It slipped out, I promise!" Insubordination and Utterance of Forbidden Words; I believe you know what the penalty for that combination is."

"No! No, Please! I'll do anything!"

The evil owl shouted a command, "Spoorn! Pull the army together and take flight toward the tree! I will catch up with you later."

"Yes, Master Skench," Spoorn staped backwards and bowed before departing to rally the army.

The small owl began to shake and sob as Skench walked circles around him. The Great Horned owl shoved him to the ground from behind, causing him to sprawl in the dirt of the makeshift hollow. Before he could stand, a foot pressed him against the ground and rubbing his face in the dirt.

"It's a shame I don't feel very hungry," Skench said casually. "No matter, death penalty is death penalty. It's pleasure for me either way," The monster laughed.

The army took wing as the small owl's cries filled the night air. A few moments later, Skench arose, leaving the mutilated and unrecognizable corpse behind.


	15. Chapter 15

Hello everyone! this is my christmas gift: A BRAND NEW CHAPTER! enjoy!

thank you all for your reviews up to this point, and I hope they will continue through the next few and final chapters I will try to finnish soon after new Years Day.

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Ch. 15

"The Island should be just ahead, if the legends are accurate!" Mrs. Plithiver shouted above a gale. She had to wrap herself around the elf owl in order to avoid being hurled off in the high winds.

"I know they are! I just know it!" Gylfie replied. She could easily push through the weather because of her improved 'blood bird' body.

"Thank Glaux it isn't winter," the snake said, "There's not the tiniest bit of heat coming off you."

"Yeah, thanks."

They flew on for a few more minutes. Gylfie wondered what had happened with her transformation into a blood bird. When Soren was turned, he suffered a great deal of pain, and he was mad at the start.

As if reading her mind, Mrs. P spoke up. "I heard about blood birds from an old friend of mine who passed through the Tyto forest every now and again. He said that most blood birds are created with a natural hatred, as if they were spawned from hagsmire itself. Some, however, are able to maintain a sort of," she paused, "separate identity which resides in the gizzard even after the transformation. He said that if a blood bird is able to grasp this piece of his soul, it will still be able to feel; to love."

"So, I was able to hold on to a part of myself, and even though I crave blood, I have retained a sense of morality," Gylfie absorbed the new information.

"Tell me, Gylfie, did Soren still have the ability to love when you saw him previous to your last encounter?"

"Well, yeah. He was the same old Soren, but he needed blood to survive. When he panicked back in the desert and shoved me, he still wanted to apologise. Then Twilight stepped in and made things worse," Gylfie's voice trailed off.

"That's excellent! That information, combined with the non-violent transformation you had means that there is still hope for him!"

The two continued the conversation as they flew onward. A thick blanket of fog encased them, and the air was still. The only sound made was the soft rush of air and gentle sloshing of the sea below. Mrs. Plithiver raised her head slightly.

"I taste something different in the air," she said, as her tongue slid between her snake lips. "There's been another creature here, not long ago."

"Could it have been Soren?" Gylfie asked with hope in her voice.

"It is possible. I simply hope we are not too late. There is no way that they could possibly defend against him," she pause briefly, "unless of course they have a secret army of tamed blood birds, but I believe that to be a merchants tale. Either way, we had best hurry."

Gylfie flew faster, directed by the snakes' heightened senses. The knowledge of what Soren could do, or what they would do if they could capture him, sent fear through her gizzard. At least if she could get there before any damage was done, she could possibly save him.

…

Soren was so close he could _taste _the blood. The sweet aroma filled his mind and he surged forward to the seemingly defenceless tree that loomed on the horizon. He imagined all the possibilities for him in the future. He could leave some to be his slaves; others would serve in his army that he would use to guard his new throne.

The tree grew closer, and the monster almost wished he could extend his neck toward the tree to be even closer to the massacre that he would commence.

…

On the other side of the tree, a large snowy owl carried Digger up to a large hollow. The burrowing owl was drifting in and out of consciousness at a steady rate, and Twilight was in hard shape. The guardians rushed to two owls to the infirmary where they were immediately were attended to.

By the time Digger remained conscious, Twilight was in shock and he began convulsing.

"He's going to bleed to death! Hurry with those leeches, we need to clean the wound and dress it!" one owl was shouting orders above the ruckus.

One of the owls walked up to digger and questioned him on what had happened. When all the details had been given the owl rushed off and began dressing Twilights wound.

"We don't have to worry about him turning, it was a talon slash." An owl said.

"Keep him restrained until he gains consciousness, just in case."

Digger sat up slowly and looked around the room he was in. There were several wounded owls in there, young and old. He began to stand, but a nurse rushed over and told him to wait until he knew he was alright to get up.

"Is my friend going to be alright?" Digger asked, glancing at the heaving mass of grey and red.

"Only time will tell. Not many owl survive an encounter with a Blood Bird, you two were lucky there was a patrol scheduled at the time it happened."

"How did they fight them off?" Digger asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" the nurse seemed shocked. "The only way you can have any chance of surviving an attack is if you are strong enough to rip them into pieces. We have our own army of disciplined Blood Birds here in the tree!"


	16. Chapter 16

*Sigh* i know, its short... at least I gave you two chapters at a time though. The story is drawing to a close, tell my what you think!

* * *

Ch. 16

_So close…_Soren thought to himself as the tree loomed up on the horizon. _This will all be mine… they will have to submit to my might._ One wing stroke at a time, the Great Tree grew closer and closer.

Eventually he could hear the owls singing as harps were played in the background. Bittersweet emotion welled up inside of him as he approached, but he quickly denied the stirrings and pressed on.

As soon as Soren could see the shapes of the owls flying around the air currents, he dropped in low for a surprise attack. He resisted the urge to strike at the first owl he flew beneath, and remained calm as he approached closer to his target.

…

"Elric, do you see that?" a large owl asked his companion, gesturing to a small shape speeding over the surface of the water.

"Yes, what do you suppose it is?"

"We were taught to always assume the worst. Go tell the captain."


	17. Chapter 17

Here is the 17th chapter!

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Ch. 17

Everything was chaotic inside the tree as the owls prepared for an attack. There were rumors of a blood bird coming in for an attack, and that it was likely that he was a decoy for a larger strike. It made sense logically, since blood bird or not, you would have to be absolutely insane to try and attack a group as large as the Great Tree alone; however Digger feared the worse.

He ran over to the commander in charge, and the owl glared down at him with black, hollow eyes. Digger swallowed and then spoke, "Sir, I have one request. If the attacker is a barn owl, please don't kill him."

"Why not?"

"Because he doesn't deserve to die…"

"If he threatens our life at the Tree, we will do what we must."

"I— I understand, but please, only if you _must_."

The commander's cold stare softened, although it was still chilling, "do you know this monster?"

"I may… If he is who I feel he is…" Digger's voice trailed off and his throat tightened.

"If he is who you believe, and he used to be a friend… it is nearly impossible for him to recover. I trust you know how dangerous a wild Blood Bird is?"

"I do, sir," Digger said as he looked to the floor.

"And you understand that if he has reached a certain point of hatred, there is no turning him around?" the commander questioned.

"yes, but Soren could never reach that point. I knew him for only a few months, but he left our group because he didn't want to hurt us. Someone with that much of a gizzard could never go completely bad, I believe there is hope."

"perhaps… if this falls through, it is on your head kid. If anyone gets hurt because of you, you will regret it." He faced his armor carriers and issued a command to have one fetch a 'White Rain' net and with his final words the commander had his polished help mounted on his head and he turned and stalked away.

All went silent aside from the haunting cries of the wounded or sick in the infirmary. A nurse trotted up to digger and spoke silently. "We have bad news on your friend. His wound is too deep to make an easy recovery, and it is quite likely that he will not make it through the day… I'm sorry."

Digger paced quietly for a moment, "is there anything you can do, anything at all?"

"No… well there is one thing, but it is highly punishable without authorization… and he would have to consent to the treatment."

"What is it?"

"I can not speak of such things to outsiders."

"He is my only friend here, if he dies I have nobody left."

The nurse looked around cautiously and whispered into Digger's ear.

Digger took a step back as if to recover from the shock of her words. He regained his composure and spoke waveringly, "If you are given authorization, can I take the place of his consent?"

"It is… unorthodox, but if the circumstances are dire, I suppose that there are no other alternatives."

"Please, speak to the ones in charge for me. I need to know that my friend will be all right.

…

"There it is!" Gylfie shouted in excitement. She felt the snake shift on her back.

"I can smell it! It is just as I had imagined!" Mrs. Plithiver bobbed her head happily.

As Gylfie got closer, she saw an indistinct commotion at the foot of the tree.

…

_Almost there… so close, _Soren was welling with a welcome morbid excitement. Suddenly he was slammed into the ground, a small net made of vines was draped over him between two owls.

They struggled to wrap the net around him, and as soon as it was clasped his strength began to deplete rapidly. He struggled to slash the netting but the vines were too tough to cut through, or even scratch.

Soren let out a screech of frustration as he thrashed about violently. The two owls grabbed the net by two long ropes that looked slightly different than the other sections and carried him inside the tree.

…

"Did you see that?" Gylfie asked.

"I'm blind, dear," the snake chuckled.

"Oh, sorry. A barn owl was just captured, I wonder if it was Soren!"

"It may well could have been,"

"I hope they didn't hurt him, I think if I get there in time I can help him come back."

"then we had best hurry, I fear they will not try to tame him very many times."

In a race against time for life, Gylfie charged at the tree and prayed to Glaux that she wouldn't be too late.


	18. Chapter 18

Hey Guys! I didnt give up, I just had to work on other stuff. So here is chapter 18, Enjoy!

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CH 18

The two warrior owls lighted inside the tree with the captured Barn Own monster between them in a net.

"Is the one whom you suspected?" the commander asked Digger.

With one look, Digger knew. "Yes, this is Soren. Please, you have to help him!"

"We will try all we can, but do not get your hopes up."

"Sir," Digger said, "Blood Birds are stronger than normal owls, aren't they?"

"that is a foolish question. Of course they are, everyone knows this."

"So how do these vines hold him down?"

"These are special vines, harvested in the season of the White Rain and infused with the blood of our Blood Bird Legion. The White Rain vines and the blood combine and make an impenetrable barrier that drains the energy from any supernatural thing it comes into direct contact with."

"Will it hurt him?" Digger looked down at the limp form of Soren

"No, but it will keep him sedated as long as it is still touching him. The only real damage it can do is if it is ingested, but we won't talk about that."

"how—" Digger was cut off.

"we don't have time for all these questions! We have many duties here in the tree and we will not be pestered by a hatchling who wants to know more than he should!" and with that, the Commander left Digger alone in the long passages and flew Soren down the corridor and into a room, which was guarded by two fully armored owls.

Suddenly, there was more commotion outside, and digger stepped to the edge of the opening in the massive truck of the Great Ga'hool tree to investigate. A single Elf owl stood in the middled of a ring of soldiers while two more circled above.

"Gylfie?" Digger said silently, then shouted "Gylfie!" He dove out of the hollow towards the ring of guards and lighted behind them. "I know her! She is one of my friends"

One of the guards spoke without turning. "She is a Blood Bird. She could be dangerous."

"I assure you, I pose no threat!" Gylfie muttered urgently and bowed her head, revealing a rosy scaled snake on her back.

"It is true," the snake replied. "we have traveled from the Tyto forest after another blood bird who we believe has already arrived here, his name is Soren, and he is a barn owl."

Gylfie went over the compleate tale of their adventures, starting with what happened at St. Aegolius'.

"No Blood Bird can have as much control as you do after that short of a time. Who are you working for?"

"I already told you everything! You have to believe me!"

"We don't _have_ to believe anything. Our duty is to protect the tree, that is all!" one of the owl shouted.

"that Barn owl you have in there is the only blood bird I know! He is the one who changed me and then tried to kill me. He is scared and confused and if you refuse to let me help you are the real monsters!"

There was a brief moment when her words were sinking in and all was silent.

The owl in charge of the unit stepped foreword and stared at the little owl, then shouted to an owl over his shoulder, "Call for Master Viscour. He will know what to do."

The owl rushed off, and Digger cautiously stepped forward. "May I speak with her? I am Digger, one of her friends."

The head owl hesitated, then ordered the guards to let him through.

"Gylfie! I am so glad to see you!"

"I was so worried Digger! I wasn't sure if you two could make it here without me. Wait, where is Twilight?"

"He isn't doing well. We were attacked by Blood Birds right before we got here. Luckily, there were guards on patrol in the area."

There was silence for a moment, then Gylfie asked quietly, "what happens to Soren if they can't help him?"

"I don't know Gylfie… I don't know."


	19. Chapter 19

Long ol' capter for you guys. I'v been pretty busy with the new job and practicing my music, so I havnt had a chance to write much, but it's 12:30 AM and I have nothing better to do than write until 8:30. Enjoy!

* * *

CH 19

It was but a few hours from first light before there was more activity at the tree, and an elder owl with raven black feathers and blood red eyes slowly walked into the circle. The only thing that allowed Gylfie to realize the breed was the tall tuft of feather on top of both sides of his head.

The Great horned owl carried the dread of death into the circle. He glared down at Digger until he evaded out of discomfort. Seeming amused by this for a moment, he slowly turned to Gylfie.

The contrast in size could have been comical, but given the circumstance, everyone was on edge. There was a long, deathly silence that truly only lasted but a moment before the dark owl spoke.

"I am Master Viscour. All blood birds in _and _within the territory of this tree answer to me." His words were icy cold and rumbled in his throat like thunder. "tell me … who are you?"

"My name—" She began.

"No! I did not ask your name; such titles are irrelevant to me at this time. I mean _who_ are you? Your deepest identity is what I seek. Tell me your heart. Where it lies and what you seek."

Gylfie was puzzled for a moment, but then spoke. "I am who I am; the one who was plucked from my safe home in the desert; the one who was flown across the earth to the deep canyons of St. Aegolius; the one who escaped with my truest friend and traveled far, meeting others along the way; the one who loved the owl that became a monster and tried to help him find himself.

"My heart is for all who want help, all who need it. I still care for the true friend inside the monster that caused my thirst and I will still do anything and everything in my power to save him. My heart lies with the victims of this mad world; the innocents slaughtered and the forest homes burned to the ground by vile fiends, feasting on their own kind.

"I seek vengeance. I seek respite from the chaos that these monsters have begun. I seek the death of the real monsters in this world who offer no mercy to the nature of life. I seek the destruction of the egg breakers and chick snatchers who are the cause of what I am now. I seek the aid of the Great Tree in seeing justice done to these beasts!" Gylfie was panting under the emotion flowing through her words.

Master Viscour lowered himself to her level and whispered, "Be calmed, young one. I have heard your heart." He spread his wings as he bowed in a sign of respect and acceptance. He stood and announced, "This young elf owl is now one of us. You will treat her as you would any of our kin. Welcome, Gylfie, to the Blood Guardians. I would be pleased to hear of your adventure in more detail at a later time." With another bow, he turned and flew towards the peak of the tree.

The guards all turned at once after he was out of sight and flew to a large opening below the one where Viscour entered.

Digger slowly stepped towards Gylfie. "That is one strange bird."

"He gives me this strange uneasy feeling. I don't trust him."

"Maybe that is for the best."

…

Dawn was encroaching on the blackness of the night, creating an eerie flat blue across the sky. Gylfie and Digger sat patiently, waiting for word about either Twilight or Soren. Digger would never be able to sleep with all the worry, and being a blood bird, Gylfie didn't really need to sleep at all, so they stayed up late into the morning.

After many hours, an owl came out of Soren's room and invited them to come in. His announcement was flat and quick that the two friends feared the worst. As they stepped into the room, they noticed that Soren was still part way restrained, but he could shift his body around to be comfortable. His eyes had that spark of energy that they had known before, and Gylfie rushed over to see him.

"You brought him back!" Digger exclaimed happily.

"Not without a fight," a nurse owl said. "We tried almost everything we know, and were ready to give up hope, but then we decided to try one more high risk technique. It is called "cross bleeding". We took the idea from a book left in one of the libraries of the Others. We couldn't translate it, but the diagrams showed a piece of equipment that took the blood from one of their limbs and filtered impurities out of it and replacing it with a purified fluid before flowing it back into the body. We use fresh owl blood and put a miniscule amount back into veins of the Blood Bird to temporarily tame them so they can be trained to control themselves.

"The only problem is that even though we can use this technique when training our Blood Guardians if their transformation doesn't go as we planned or if they come to us rogue and wild, the injection of the blood becomes something that the owls crave. If they go for a long period of time without it, they begin to lose control again. We have not yet found a way to avoid this… side effect."

"So, Soren will always be dependant on this injection then." Gylfie said softly. She looked at the contraptions of blood filled vials and tubes, feeling her thirst growing. Then a thought struck her. "Where does the blood come from?"

"Well, seeing as you are a Blood Guardian, I suppose it is safe to say," the nurse pulled Gylfie away as Soren and Digger talked about what had transpired. "here at the tree, we have owls who supply their own blood… this is all voluntary, I assure you. We have a rotation of twenty owls, each supplying half of their blood per week. We keep them well fed so that they can still be in good health. From this blood we receive, we keep a certain percentage separate for cases like your friend Soren here, where he has to receive the same blood supply each time; else he might go into shock. The rest of it is put into the drinking pot and transported to the Blood Guardian's Hall. A disturbing bit of business, but Viscour and the blood guardians are a valuable asset to the tree's defense. Of course, some of our Blood Guardians choose to abstain from owl blood, or all bird blood, and we provide for them as well."

Suddenly, another nurse-owl rushed in. "we need help with the Great Grey! He is putting up a fight in the other room!"

Everyone rushed out, aside from Soren and one nurse to look after his needs.

When they reached twilights room, he was in an uproar.

"Where is that Gull brained sand eater!? I'll kill him! I'll kill him!" Twilight shouted and pulled at his vines so hard that the bed threatened to give way, even though the restraints were unbreakable. "Where is he? I can smell him!"

Digger walked over cautiously. "Twilight, I'm right here, calm down."

"Calm down! As if! You pile of rack-drops! You got me in this mess! Who gave you any say in what happens to me anyway?"

"I don't understand! We did everything right, so why is he acting so aggressively?" an owl said in a panic.

"Don't worry!" Digger said, "He's always like this. He'll calm down eventually."

"Smart move long-legs, you got us to turn a short tempered giant into a flying death wish! Just brilliant!" The owl Digger spoke to before was in a rage almost as bad as Twilight.

"I couldn't just let him die! Trust me, he'll come around." _At least I hope…_


	20. Chapter 20

_Ch 20_

Sure enough, eventually twilight calmed down to the point of reason. Digger explained that the only way to save his life was to have him turned into a blood bird, and although he didn't like the thought, twilight expressed his gratitude with an effort.

Everything was back to normal, or so it seemed. Soren was distant, but that made sense. After all, he blamed himself for both Gylfie and Twilight becoming Blood Birds.

Gylfie was spending a lot of time with Viscour, learning more about the Blood Birds, and even that there are even more unnatural things in their world than that.

He was more interested in her transformation however, and they often went over the details. He said that he was developing a theory on how she was more or less able to keep control over herself after the transformation, as opposed to most blood birds.

"As a general rule, an owl typically stays loyal to the one who changed them and no memories from the past life remain. If they break off it is either to find a colony to join, or continue a solo conquest in attempt to gain a following. Everything they do is in the name of power.

That is the true passion of a Blood Bird, and feeding is a part of this as well. It is a powerful feeling to take a life, to feed on the very blood of those weaker than us. You, on the other hand, seek justice. You seek companionship and even love."

He paused for a moment and clicked his hard, razor sharp talons on the wooden floor of his office. Gylfie shifted uncomfortably, which again seemed to give him a sense of satisfaction.

"Some believe that the more traumatic the change, the more difficult it is to control the Blood Bird, but your account has given a new perspective. You see, most Blood Birds die, and then awaken as a blood bird, but you retained consciousness. I believe this is because you had the venom introduced directly to your living heart through the main arteries while you were still alive. Soren made sure you didn't die when he transformed you by covering your wound so you wouldn't bleed out, and with the venom mixed with your blood in that ratio, you gained the powers of a Blood Bird, but retained the cognitive function of the owl before."

"But Soren seemed as though he had gone mad when he was first changed, then after he looked into my eyes, he came back."

"His transformation was also strange. You said that he was dead for more than a minute before he awoke, and that the Blood Bird that brought him back mixed your blood with her venom and poured it into his mouth. So he ingested the venom, and the result was that he could find himself when he looked into your eyes…" His voice trailed off. "Something isn't adding up here. Where exactly did he bite you?"

"He bit me sort of on an angle, so it would have been here." She turned her head up to expose the surface of her neck, right beside her throat."

"That makes more sense. Soren is larger than you, so he actually would have punctured your esophagus."

"What does that mean for me, then?"

"His poison would have entered your digestive system, and reach your stomach. Ingestion, rather than circulation! That is the key! You can run along now, spend time with your friends, I have to write what we have discovered in our notes."

Gylfie watched as he grabbed a pen with his talons and began to write on a piece of parchment, then she left the room.

_He can't be that bad, I am learning so much from him… But still, I don't trust him. It must be just his coloring._ Gylfie thought to herself as she walked to the edge of the large hollow and took flight into the blood-red morning sky.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

The mist over the waters bordering the island of the Great Tree was thick and heavy as a mortal sentry was making his rounds. Though he was actually a Barn owl, he had bleached his feathers to white so he could float through the wind on silent wings and nearly invisible, save for his black eyes.

He thought he heard something from behind and he quickly turned in his flight, but saw nothing. He circled in that area for a moment, trying to hear for trespassers, but when all was silent, he turned back for the tree.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp, burning pain in his chest as a splash of red blood coated the face of the Blood Bird that had assassinated him. He plummeted into the waves below, limp and lifeless.

…

_The long days of preparations are finally over, and soon, the tree will be mine, _Skench thought, and did a swoop in the air to clean the blood from her feathers. She flapped hard and fast until she rose above the low hanging mist, where hundreds of Blood Birds circled like vultures. Skench cried out to the multitude.

"My Fellow Blood Birds! Today is the day we make our mark on the history of this world. No longer will we be a minority, but we will rise and live forever in our power, and our names will bring fear for all time! We are the Army of St. Aegolius, the very first of our kind.

"though we have always been thwarted in the past, we will finally strike down the enemy, rip them limb from limb and make them pay for their oppression! We will cast them out like they cast us out so very long ago! Rise my blood birds, my friends! Now is the time! Attack, and may their blood spill into the sea! Attack!


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

"They are coming! They're almost here, sound the alarm!" A small owl was screeching as he fluted into the main lounge hall of the great tree.

A sudden panic moved over the crowd.

"calm down, calm down!" Master Viscour said as he stepped out of the shadows. "Tell us the whole story."

It came in broken jumbles, but eventually the small owl told of how he had seen the horde of blood birds flying toward the tree. He himself was a blood bird, so he was able to hide his heartbeat so nobody would hear him.

"If there are as many as you say, we have no chance of defeating them by might alone." Viscour said. "we need a plan."

"I know what we have to do." Soren lighted down from his perch and stood in the center of the floor, next to the black owl. He quickly spoke to Viscour of the dream he had so long ago.

"are you sure of this?" he asked, skeptical.

"I passed it off as just a dream before, but I know we can do this."

"How do you know?"

"I can feel it. I feel it in my gizzard!" Soren said with confidence.

A low chuckle emanated from Viscour. "You _feel_ it in your… _gizzard_? You, by all rights, are dead. You have no gizzard left, just like the rest of us!"

"You're wrong. I still hold the memories of when I was a new hatchling. I feel the same feelings that I always have. I feel happiness, sorrow, peace, and anger. When we are taught of our emotions, we are taught of the gizzard.

"whether you believe me or not doesn't matter. But what does matter is that we have little time left before their hundreds arrive, and we are outnumbered at least four to one, and what I saw in my dream is our only chance! We have to take it or we _will _lose!"

The capitan of the guards stepped forward. "I agree with the lad, and I believe he has high spirits. He is strong, to have fought his monstrous side for so long and maintained his sanity. I say we try his plan."

The rest of the guards, which was about a half of the tree, stepped behind the captain in support. Viscour seemed to shrink back at this, as if it was a threat, then regained his composure.

"well then," he said, ruffling his feathers. He clacked his beak and glared at soren, "this is your decision, and therefore, you will take the fall should this get," he paused, then crouched down and whispered, "_messy…" _with a furl, he turned and flew up to the large balcony where he sat with the other leaders of the Tree.

Digger slowly walked up to sorren. "Soren, I want to fight too."

"Digg, you aren't a Blood bird, it's too dangerous!"

"Your dream showed me at the front lines with you, Gylfie, and Twilight. You Can't leave me out!"

"But were all changed now, and you're still just a burrowing owl!"

"Just a burrowing owl. Got it." He turned and began to stride out.

"Digger, wait! I didn't mean it like that!"

"No, you're right. That's the problem. I'm just a Burrowing Owl in a world of Blood Birds and Glaux knows what else is out there! I want to be a part of it! I want to be like you. I want to fight!"

Viscour suddenly appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. "and fight, you shall."


	23. Chapter 23

So, who is your favorite character? The story is coming to a close very shortly, I hope you are all as excited as I am! Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Ch 23

"What are you talking about?" Soren demanded. "last I remember, you were against the fight."

"If the tree stands with Soren, who am I to argue it? Follow me."

Soren and Digger exchanged cautious glances, and followed Viscour down a long passage in the tree. They came to a dead end shortly. Viscour tapped a talon on the floor three times, and then traced the grains of wood on the wall, muttering under his breath so the only discernable sound was his clacking beak.

The wall slid away sideways, and revealed a hidden room. Glass vials laid strewn on a table on the far wall. In the middle was a stand that held a small caldron. A vile smell poured over the edge.

"Viscour, what is this?" Soren asked.

"This is my research. I have put centuries into this, but now your friend Gylfie has provided the final piece of the puzzle.

"You see, I have been trying to find a way to create blood birds- on their own free will, of course, who would maintain their own identity. I tried any combination of venom with various different things to dilute it. Nothing worked, and I had nearly given up; but then I met you and your _interesting_ friend."

"get on with it," Soren said.

"Is that any way to treat your superiors? Not at all," Viscour chided, "but as you wish." He paused for a moment, his red eyes wandering. "The key, my young friends, is not how you bite, but _where_."

Soren was suddenly very uncomfortable.

"If the venom circulates through your body, then it will almost always bear the same results; a blood crazed, heartless monster that needs years of reformation before it has a shred of remorse. Our technique of circulating owl blood back into the system is alright for a temporary fix, but you both know the complications of that."

Soren's mind wandered back to Twilight. At least once a day he had to have the treatment again. That was no way to live, and he pitied the owl for it. Soren had the treatment once, but he was able to keep control over himself from that point on.

"So, what have you discovered?" Soren asked.

"You must have your aspiring Blood bird _drink _your venom, and not have it circulate fully through their circulatory system.

"Of course, drinking it straight would kill you, so therefore it must be mixed with mortal blood."

"But what about Gylfie? I bit her," Soren asked, appalled.

"indeed, but the difference in size allowed the tip of your beak- where the venom is poured out from- to enter her gullet, therefore she ingested a mixture of your venom, and her blood. And you were transformed in a similar manner by the Blood Bird Hortense, although you were already dead, which I would assume is why it is more difficult for you to hold onto your identity."

Soren looked at Digger, unsure of what to say.

Digger finally spoke, "so what about me? You want me to be the proof that this is real, and not just theory?"

"No, of course not; the proof is all right here, in Soren and Gylfie! Of course it would obviously help to validate my claim when I bring it forward to the king of the tree…" his voice trailed off as he glanced sideways at Digger.

"What if it doesn't work? What if Gylfie and I were just a coincidence?"

"If there is one thing that living through centuries of time will teach you, _boy_, it is that there are no _coincidences_. Everything is planned by fate, Glaux, or what have you." He looked at Digger again and said, "This is the only way you can fight alongside your friends, so will you take the chance or not?"

Digger thought for a long moment, then said, "I can't fight my destiny. I am fated to be in this fight, and the proof is Soren's dream. That is good enough for me. Do it."

Viscour emited a low rumble of laughter in his throat, "very good, very good indeed…"


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

"Digger, are you sure about this?" Soren asked.

"Yes, I'm sure. It's my life, my future, my decision."

Soren looked at Viscour, "Who's venom is that?"

"It's mine, of course," He replied.

"I want to do it," Soren said.

"That is ridiculous!" Viscour shouted, "We do not have time for that. To try and puncture his gullet would be too dangerous. And this is all prepared, Just waiting to be used," He gestured to the small pot on the table.

"Soren, it's alright," Digger assured, "It isn't like there is more risk of losing my identity because it's him and not you."

Viscour scooped a small mouthful out with a wooden ladle he held in his talons, "when you are ready, drink this. Your transformation will be almost instant, and you will still know who you are, and who is an enemy and who is a friend."

Elewhere in the tree, the force of Blood Birds were preparing. Following Sorens instructions, the captain had the army- nearing fifty Blood Birds - Stand still as the many snake servants walked in and out of the ranks splashing fresh blood up onto their feathers that wouldn't be needed in flight. Each species of owl had its blood matched, so it would smell as if it were still mortal. They all concentrated to make their hearts start beating again. Any Blood Bird that could not was placed at the back of the ranks.

The Blood Birds were wearing battle talons, which they knew was unnecessary because their talons would be harder and sharper than any battle talons ever could be.

As they prepped for battle, the Capitan shouted the battle strategy out over the Blood Birds.

_I hope to Glaux this works_. The Captain thought to himself.

The Great Trees army was assembled on the outer limbs when Gylfie emerged with Twilight. It was a struggle, but the nurses were able to be convinced to let him fight. The two looked at each other as they made their hearts start beating again.

The largest Blood Bird and the smallest; they had been through so much together. Gylfie felt a lump form in her throat as she reminisced on what all they had overcome.

"If we don't survive this," Twilight said, leaning down, "I want you to know that I always looked up to you."

Gylfie was shocked at his words, "How could you look up to me?"

"Because no matter what happened with Soren, you still believed he was good. You were right, and I was wrong. I have prided myself for my upbringing for years, but in reality, it is my biggest flaw. I can take care of myself because that is what I know to do, but I don't know how to trust when I ought to. that, Gylfie, is why I admire you."

"Thank you, Twilight, for everything."

As if on cue, the St. Aegolius Army emerged from the clouds to the west, fast approaching. Soren and Digger appeared beside their companions, smelling and sounding like mortal owls. Their battle talons glittered in the moonlight, and Soren and his three companions took flight. Seconds later the rest of the trees army was in the air and flying towards the vast multitude of St. Aegolius' army, which out matched them six to one.

_This is it_, Soren thought as he raised his talons, preparing to strike.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

_The fools are sending mortals to fight a blood bird army_, Stench thought to herself with confidence, _taking the tree will be much easier than I thought before._

Then she noticed something strange about the fifty approaching owls. Several owls' blood smelled the same, and in that moment she realized what was about to happen and she bellowed, "Loop back! It's a trap!" But the overconfident Blood birds still surged forward.

The St. Aegolius army did nothing to defend, for the believed their attackers were mortal owls. The first ranks collided like thunder. As if in slow motion, the battle talons that each of the owls were wearing splintered on impact with St. Aegolius' Blood Birds, allowing the tree's forces to sink their talons deep into their flesh.

Twilight grabbed two Blood Birds at once and slammed their heads together, shattering them. Gylfie swooped down and twisted, gutting the Blood bird in front of her then tore his head off. Soren gave one wing a hard flap while tucking the other close to his body, then grabbed his opponents' wing with one foot, and pushed on his back with the other. There was a sickening pop and rip, and then the evil Blood Bird and his wing separately plummeted to the sea below. Digger was less skilled of a flier, but his legs were swift and strong. He ripped wings like old parchment left behind by the others, and threw Blood birds at their comrades.

Row after row of the St. Aegolius army was caught blind by the surprise; but then one of the tree's warriors fell, then another, and another. The tree's plan had worked though. They had taken out nearly one hundred Blood Birds within the first few minutes of fighting. They were still outnumbered greatly, but Sorens spirits were lifted by this knowledge.

Then from amidst the ranks of the Tree's army arose four groups of owls carrying large nets. These owls were mortal, so they would be able to carry the White Rain nets and drop them over the St Aegolius army.

Three of them were successful, but the other group was stopped in mid air by Spoorn, Skench's lead officer. He was wearing long, thin blades on his wings, and on his beak he wore a long razor. Soren saw him, and believed it was only for show, but then he watched as two blood birds were torn apart by the metal.

Twilight was chanting battle songs as he tore blood birds apart.

"…_I'll rip them limb from limb,_

_Destroy them in the dim,_

_I feel a thrill inside_

_When I cut them open wide!"_

Soren found himself far above the fray, completely alone. Then he heard a shrill cry and turned in flight to see Spoorn charging at him with malice in his eyes and gore on his blades.

Soren dodged and attempted a counter strike, but Spoorn caught his foot and struck with his own. Soren grabbed Spoorn's talons and they were locked in a death grip. Soren ducked to avoid Spoorns metal beak and bladed wings.

Soren beat his wings as fast and hard as he could, pushing with all his might. He turned in the air to force Spoorn's back to face the water.

"You are a Blood Bird, 12-1!" he spat.

"yes, I am! But not like you!" With a might cry, Soren pushed Spoorn's legs until they buckled, then grabbed the flesh of his chest. With a cold stare, Soren tore him in two and charged between the falling halves, diving toward the battle.

Something changed inside of him in that moment. He was more powerful than he even realized, and it sickened him. _I don't want to be this._

He charged through three Blood Birds on his way back to the battle. Soren witnessed Twilight using a dead burrowing owl- not Digger- as a club, fire in his eyes as he killed several more Blood birds. The fighting was unnatural and vicious.

Soren watched Viscour, and he saw that rather than fighting the enemy Blood birds, he was flying away from a group of them. _He is afraid to die, _Soren thought to himself. Just as Soren was about to turn away, he saw a Blood Bird dive into Viscour, clawing and biting. They crashed into the sea, and moments later, the attacker rose out of the water.

Gylfie saw it too, and her rage exploded. She charged at the Owl that had killed Viscour, tucked in her wings and flew _through _him. He fell into the sea and sank.

When the tree was down to twenty warriors, the sun began to rise in the east. There were still at least fifty Blood Birds on the St. Aegolius army remaining, but Skench could see that if they won this fight, she would have no army left.

"Fall back! Fall Back I say!" She ordered, and her army turned to flee.

"After them! Leave none alive!" The Tree's commander shouted.

Hours passed of chasing, but eventually the majority of Skench's army was destroyed. She escaped with twenty owls, and disappeared.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

For several days after the fighting, Soren sat alone in his chamber, disgusted. _The worst part of this whole mess, _he thought, _is that I like it. I like to kill; I like to hurt._

During those days his companions had come to visit him, but when he didn't respond, they quickly left. A small owl had come in once, and said that the leaders of the tree wished to see him, but he didn't move.

Finally, Gylfie came in alone and just sat beside him, staring at the setting sun.

"Everyone is really worried about you," she said in a soothing voice.

"Hmm."

"You can't just sit in here moping day in and out. Look, your feathers are dying from malnourishment!"

Soren glanced down and saw that his feathers were shriveling up, and they had lost their sheen. Then he looked back at the sky.

"Soren," Gylfie soothed, "I know you are upset by what you have done; by what had to be done. I know because I am as well."

Soren remained silent still.

"Your heart is still beating," Gylfie said.

"That is how it will stay, until the day that I die," Soren replied flatly, then softly added, "I'm sorry Gylf… I'm so sorry that I did this to you. I wish I could take it back. Maybe if I died—"

"Soren stop talking like that. You dying would not fix anything. Right now the tree needs you! _I _need you!"

A lump formed in his throat and his eyes moistened.

"Please Soren! I can not bear this life alone! You are my dearest friend, and the others need you as well."

"The leaders of the tree have summoned me. I don't want to go alone."

"You don't have to, I will go with you," she looked up to Soren, than placed her head on his chest; she had to stretch to reach. Then she timed her heartbeat with his, "Our hearts will beat together, until the day we die."

A single tear dripped down Soren's beak, and he bowed his head.

"Let's go, we can get you something to drink and then see the king."

Soren and Gylfie stopped at the kitchens and both gor a serving of vole blood. It was bittersweet, but it quenched Soren's hunger and his feathers quickly healed.

As they walked through the passageways, Blood birds lowered their eyes and mortal owls turned away. When they reached the chamber where the leaders held council, he hesitantly stepped forward with Gylfie at his side.

There were several different species of owls sitting in a horseshoe shape on perches. One of whom was a Whiskered Screech owl with hard yellow eyes. It was as if he glared into Soren's very soul. At the very center of the line of leaders was a Snowy owl. He lowered his head and then spoke with a loud voice.

"I am Boron, king of this tree. What is your name?"

"My name is Soren, sir. Why have you summoned me?" Soren asked.

"The better question is why have you brought your friend?"

"This is Gylfie. She is my dearest friend, and I want her to be at my side, whatever you have to say."

"Very well," Boron said. He looked at the other Owls for concent, and then continued, "You saved this tree, and for that we are in your debt. Is there anything you wish to gain from us?"

"No, Sir. The only thing I want is something you could never offer," Soren said.

"And what would that be?"

"I want to be mortal," He answered.

"I am afraid you are correct. We cannot undo what has been done," he said, "However; there is still one matter to discuss. As you know, our head Blood Bird Master Viscour was defeated in the battle. We need someone to replace him."

"You want me to take his place? Why?"

"You have spirit, boy. You are strong, and brave; and you stand for things which Viscour never has, and most Blood Birds have forgotten. You stand for love."

"But I am just a new Blood bird! How can I lead them?"

"As of right now, you can not. But we can teach you to lead, if you will," Boron offered.

"I don't know what to say…" Soren looked to Gylfie. he thought of all they had been through. He remembered how she had stayed with him, and she had chased him when he left. He turned back to Boron, "I can't accept, your majesty."

"Might I ask you why?"

Soren took a deep breath and looked up, "I have to decline, because I can not raise myself up above my companions. They have been by my side this whole time, and I can't fill this role if it means that I will step above them."

"I see. Well, if the time comes when you decide, our hall is open to you."

"Thank you, your majesty," Soren bowed his head and backed out of the room.

Soren went back to his room and sat where he had been before, Gylfie at his side. "It isn't right," he said.

"What?"

"It isn't right that Blood Birds exist. What started it all? _Who _started it all?"

"Does it really matter?" Gylfie asked. "It is what it is. We can't change it, and you heard the king yourself, there is no way to undo what has been done. You're still the same owl you were before, just as I am."

"I just want it to be over…"

"Soren, look around. You see the moon and the stars. We did a great thing today. We stopped a great evil, it _is _over."

"But what if it isn't? What if something else happens, and after that and after again? What if it never stops and we have to fight until we die?"

Gylfie gently touched him with the tip of her wing. "Then we will stand here after every time, and wonder if it really is over. And someday, it will be."

* * *

It is over! it's hard to believe I finally finished it. I spent so many hours writing this, and reworking the ideas in my head so that it would all fit. all of my reviewers have helped me to grow as an author, and I thank each and every one of you for your support.

Blood Birds is over, and when my other ongoing stories are done with, my fanfiction career will be over. I may write a few stories, but It will be quite some time, as I am going to finish it before I post.

Again, I thank everyone, and if you would like to hear about other writing projects, go to my fan fiction profile and look for the link to one of my videos.


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